Kikar HaMedina (English: “Square of The State”) is a round square in the center of Tel Aviv and is the largest plaza in Israel. Tel Aviv’s answer to Beverly Hills’ famous “Rodeo Drive,” Kikar HaMedina is brimming with luxury shopping options. If your credit card won’t hear of it, it’s worth the trip just to window-shop the tailored collections and creative window displays while sipping an iced coffee.
Around the plaza, which was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer (in cooperation with Israeli architects who planned for the existing residential buildings), there is a circular street, He Be’Iyar Street (Israeli Independence Day Street), connecting with two major streets: the north-south Weizmann Street, and the east-west Jabotinsky Street, as well as a number of small streets.
In the 1960s, circuses operated in the middle of the square, and as a result, the joke arose: Why is the square called the “Square of The State”? Because like the state, it has half a year of circus and half a year of mud.
In the early 1970s, extensive construction activity began on the outside of H. Bayer Street, and luxury buildings with a uniform design were built. Much of the square’s publicity comes from luxury stores of international designers located on the ground level of these buildings, which have made it one of the most expensive areas in Tel Aviv and a luxury high-end shopping district. These include Gucci, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Philip Plein, Furla, Chopard, Burberry, Valentino, Chloé, Dior, Brunello Cucinelli, Moncler, Tom Ford, Celiné, Escada, Nespresso, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, IWC Shcaffhausen, Frette, Hermés, Zadig & Voltaire, Eres, Bonpoint, Balenciaga and Padani. The square is a symbol, sometimes rightly so and sometimes unjustly, of everything that is a sleepy, detached, and arrogant Tel Aviv.
The square is bustling during all hours of the day but enjoys extra-wide sidewalks which create a pleasant strolling experience between the shops. It seems that the infamous Israeli double parking was invented in this square. The ultra-rich like to shop here, and double park not because it is needed but rather because it’s a good way to show off their new luxury car.
The square itself is currently the site of a large, poorly maintained park, however recent plans to demolish it and build large shopping centers and luxury towers have been approved. Under the plan, three 40-floor apartment buildings, a 10-acre public park that will take up about half of the square, and an underground car park will be built. Works began in 2019 and as of 2022 most of the square has been dug into.
Want to shop (or at least window-shop) like the rich? then Kikar Hamedina is the perfect place for you.
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