Beersheba

Understand

Beer Sheva can appear underwhelming at first glance. As you enter the city, the oversized avenues and partially run down residential building blocks from the 1950s and 1960s make for an unimpressive welcome. However, Beer Sheva can be of interest for any traveller who wishes to experience Israel off-the-beaten-track and there might be no better place to do this, since not even most Israelis are aware that Beer Sheva can be much more than only a stopover on the way to Eilat. The old Turkish town, as run down as it might be, has a very distinct feel and is hugely underrated: it is the only planned Ottoman city in the entire region, erected in 1900 for strategic reasons in order to secure the Negev region and to control the restive Bedouin population. Today, the architectural and historical jewels, culinary highlights, highly welcoming people and the provincial atmosphere of Beer Sheva allow for the visitor to explore the "normal" and "unpretentious" Israel beyond Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. In addition to that, Beer Sheva offers a vibrant student community - based around the university - which has developed a great nightlife one would never expect at first sight.

Beer Sheva and its surroundings give a feel of Israel's strength. On the way down from the north, agricultural fields have replaced the desert; as Isaiah prophesied: "Thirsty deserts will be glad; barren lands will celebrate and blossom with flowers". Also, like Tel-Aviv, a modern skyscraper city has been created o…

Get around

Beer Sheva is served by buses (₪4). Most of these depart from behind the central bus station (on your right when getting off from an inter-city bus). If coming in by train, these will be on your left when coming out of the train station. For details, see the bus map for Be'er Sheva. Pay attention that you can't pay the driver with cash on the buses.

Most taxi cabs in the city will take you anywhere else in the city for around ₪20.

Ride-hailing services such as Gett and Yango are available.

See

thumbnail|300px|Tel Beer Sheva

Do

A Hebrew list of cultural events in the city - concerts, theater, and more - is available here.

Eat

24-hour dining at Nafis located at the BIG mega shopping compound. There are also Chinese, Italian, French, Ethiopian, Argentinean, Brazilian, Indian, Bulgarian, Moroccan, Yemenite, Russian, Japanese, Spanish and many Middle Eastern restaurants in town which are moderately pricy. Beer Sheva's culinary offer is spectacular and reflects the cultural backgrounds of the inhabitants of this multi-ethnic city. Locations do change frequently and the restaurants are sometimes located in residential neighborhoods, so advice from locals (and especially students) can be essential.

The major concentrations of restaurants are: - in the Old Town either on the pedestrianized Keren-Kayemet Street (Bulgarian Restaurant) or Smilansky Street (Shabazi, Ahuzat Halperin, Bilbao, Beit haFul, Arabica, Mate Midbar) - in the Civic Center (new city centre) close to the central train and bus stations (Arigato, Kapulski, Mor Noodle Bar, Saba Jebetto) - at the BIG shopping compound (Nafis, Spagettim, Rigoletto, Shipudei haAvaz, and the highly recommended Pitput) - around the main campus of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (mainly Dalet neighborhood) (Gatro, Small India, Ringelblum, Hummus Hamsa, and the highly recommended SUSHI Ishimoto at Derech Metsada street , and a Mehadrin Kosher shwarma place Falafel Liberty at 50 Merkaz Oren with very generous servings.)

Israeli fast food (falafel, shawarma, hummus) is readily available almost everywhere across town. Some places have gained fame for their q…

Drink

Lots of water, it's in the desert.

And then, go into the student pubs around the university during the semester in order to sense the country-wide famous student life of the city. The pubs around the university are: Publo, Rosa, Manga, Munchilla, Coca, Barbasaba and Grace.

Sleep

Despite its size and university location, Beer Sheva does not offer budget options for light travellers and families. Therefore, your best bet would be to head to Arad and stay there. Arad is less than an hour away, has dorm accommodation and is only ₪8.70 by bus one way. However, you may try BeWeclome, HospitalityClub or Couchsurfing if you are comfortable with it.

Go next

Be'er Sheva is a convenient departure point for excursions to Arad (Bus: 1 h & ₪8.70), Masada, Mitzpe Ramon and elsewhere in the Negev.

There are also a few buses going north to Hebron, the traditional burial place of the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives. Check that the bus you are thinking of taking goes into Hebron and not just to the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba.

There are two good rental car agencies across from the train station (daily rate for automatic ₪200 on a walk in basis), but be careful: police inspectors are on the lookout for traffic and parking violations.