Haifa downtown is a small piece of Graffiti heaven, complete with old buildings with a twist. Just walk to the wall and make your Haifa graffiti tour alone.
The perfect escapism in Haifa downtown includes walking through old peeling buildings covered with beautiful wall paintings, enjoying the flea market, and eating with style.
You can follow the graffiti tour mentioned on this map, explore on your own, or combine the flea market with local food tastes according to my suggested route below.
Haifa is hipster than ever, especially in the downtown area. Since 2011 there is a collective of artists called “Ghostown” which was created in Haifa and its goal was to collect artists, musicians and producers and wake up the sleepy art scene in Haifa.
In 2017 many walls in Haifa got covered with painting due to “Walls Festival” that invited well-know artists from all around the world together will local artists to cover neglect walls in Haifa (and in Jerusalem).
For convenient access, park near Sha’ar Palmer Street or take the train to Hashmona Station. Begin your journey uphill from Sha’ar Palmer Street, where you’ll encounter captivating graffiti art, including the whimsical creations of Kj263 from Germany with funny noses.
On arrival, park in the city center near the port or take the train to Hashmona Station
Alin Mor
The first wall art you will notice at Hanamal 45 street made by a local artist from Haifa, Alin Mor. Her art is colorful and reminds me of Klimt’s art, including female figures and surrealist scenes.
This captivating artwork is ideal for capturing Instagram-worthy moments!
For more of Alin Mor’s captivating creations, be sure to check out her Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/alinmor/?hl=en
Brothers of Light
The next artists who got my attention are “Brothers of Light.” Their graffiti paintings remind me of a combination of Dr. Seuss and Keith Harring with their pop art style. Most of their naive paintings feature motives of “birds,” “Monkeys,” and “eyes,” and they use bold and warm colors.
Why are they called “Brothers of Light”? Two brothers, Elna and Gab, from Jerusalem, certainly bring light to the graffiti.
The art is beautiful! You can explore more of their work and even purchase prints on their website.
https://www.brothersoflight.net/prints
The Broken Finges
Another prominent brand of graffiti and one of the most famous artists is «The Broken Fingers,» which was created by three artists living in Haifa. They collaborated with Blink182, Pearl Jam, and even U2, who showed their art in their videos.
You could not avoid their painting as they are viewed on large walls and entire buildings!
They are promoting co-existence by cooperating with local Arab artists during this project in Haifa.
Here, they teamed with the artist Ahmad Zohabi, a professional Arabic Calligrapher!
On their website, they share all their work from around the world. They even cooperate with a famous streetwear brand in Mexico. Check out their website here:
https://brokenfingaz.com/2020/11/
Tom Melnick
still on Hanamal Street, in Hanamal 35, you will find a beautiful painting in pastel colors owned by Tel-Avivian artist Tom Melnik. Tom is a super-talented graphic designer known for fashionable and surrealist designs. Its website is still under construction, so you can visit its website and arrange flowers in the vase.
https://tomelnick.com/ or follow her beautiful Instagram account @tomelnick
Continue down Hanamal Street, and you will notice a broken wall with paintings made by Mudwig from the United Kingdom. The picture is about a machine connected to a lamp. I’m still trying to understand what’s in that picture; what do you think?
These guys love to paint machines and combine them with human bodies and animal figures. Their web page shows this.
https://danielsparkes.bigcartel.com/products?page=4
Leolyxxx
After finishing walking and viewing all the gorgeous walls on Hanamal Street, walk to Jaffa Street to view a beautiful wall painting that seems to demonstrate a Coca-Cola stream flowing in your body or is it a volcano eruption made by Leolyxxx
Check out his YouTube to see the process of this unique painting.
After this fun tour, do you need a coffee? Walk to Paris Square on Natanzon Street and buy a café at one of the trendy cafés there. Then, proceed to Shivat Zion Street.
Walking down this street you will find many paintings combined with local stores and buildings. It’s so inspiring to see how old buildings can be as appealing with little touches of color.
Haifa Erck
One of the more optimistic wall paintings belongs to Haifa Erck, a graffiti artist who makes us smile whenever we find his artwork. You can find a painting of a smiling man smoking a cigar. He likes to add sunflowers to his paintings to symbolize happiness. You can check his Instagram account @erck and smile more often.
Forty5 Forty6
One of the impressive artworks you will find here belongs to forty5 forty6. This painting is joyful with its pink color and funny message.
Flea Market
From there, continue walking on Kibbutz Galuyot Street and enjoy the flea market. The flea market includes local sellers of antique art, furniture, electrical products, and everything else you can think of.
Don’t miss the special doll shop, which includes toys, jewelry, and things you didn’t know you needed to have.
Where to Eat
I guess you’re hungry and looking for where to eat. If you want a light lunch, walk to Kibbutz Galuyot 1 and try what is considered a top humus place in Israel, Abu Maron.
You can try a delicious fresh falafel at ST. Jhon Street 26 and don’t regret the taste or the smile that comes with it.
Looking for the perfect mix of pub and food? Head to Natanzon 4 streets (not far from Paris Square) and sample authentic European cuisine with the city’s best beer.
Asian food? Say no more. Go to Chang BA in Hanamal 23 Street and enjoy authentic Thai food you won’t find anywhere else in Israel.
The last time I visited Haifa, I ended my tour in a local kube place, which was perfectly placed near my parking lot in the port. This place, which looks like your grandmother’s food, is called Efi’s Kube, and it’s on Shaha’r Palmer Street near Hanamal Street.”
Haifa is a beautiful city with structures from the Ottman period, and the graffiti painting that was made has come alive! If you need more excuses for visiting Haifa, visit my latest post here: 5 surprising things you might didn’t know about Haifa
