For decades after its independence in 1948, Israel was a closed-off enclave at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, virtually ignored by international business due to its Socialist-style economy and political isolation. All that had changed by the 1990s, when a combination of free-market economic reform, the local high-tech boom, and a brightened political climate brought the world rushing to the Jewish state. (Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, both with Israeli business interests, were among the visitors.) The best expression of how the globalized world now treats Israel is Tel Aviv, today a cosmopolitan Western-style city with branches of overseas investment banks and high-rise office towers, not to mention bustling shopping centers and pulsing nightlife.

Where to Sleep
Professionals at Israeli firms hosting foreign guests complain that there are no really good business-oriented hotels in Tel Aviv. Nobody’s perfect but the best of the lot are the new David InterContinental, a preferred site for conventions and exhibits but far from the center of things, and the better-located but aging Dan and Tel Aviv Hilton, both on the beachfront hotel strip. Visiting gem dealers frequent the Sheraton City Tower, near the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange complex, while those with business in the high-tech belt north of Tel Aviv often stay at the beachside Dan Accadia, in Herzilya Pituah. In the sticky summers, some opt for the cool mountain air of Jerusalem, only 35 miles away, where the winning choices seem to accent history, at the famous King David, and modernity, at the David Citadel and Inbal; all three are a short walk from Jerusalem’s Old City walls—but several frustrating traffic jams away from Tel Aviv business appointments.

Where to Eat
As befits the hub of a nation with immigrants from about 100 countries, Tel Aviv has eateries of almost every possible cuisine. Business visitors can opt for international-style food at hotel restaurants or seek out Middle Eastern cooking in the Yemenite Quarter. Less touristy choices include two favorites of Daniel Rogov’s, the top local food critic: Raphael, next to the Tel Aviv Dan Hotel, where culinary superstar Rafi Cohen holds court, and Carmella Banahala, in a picturesque old building near the Carmel open-air market, where you can pick out a do-it-yourself ménu dégustation of half-portions of chef Daniel Zach’s creative Mediterranean-Provençale offerings. The seafood is good and the setting even better at Manta Ray, right on the beach. The latest Italianate creations from 24-year-old wunderkind Yaron Shalev, a professional chef since the age of 16, can be sampled at Toto, near the Tel Aviv Museum.

Where to See and Be Seen
For a night out with the country’s elite—including Bank Leumi CEO Galia Maor, diamond mogul Lev Leviev, and Carnival Cruise Lines heiress Shari Arison—head to the Mann Auditorium when Zubin Mehta, music director of the Israel Philharmonic, is conducting the world-class orchestra. Those whose tastes are less highbrow attempt to procure tickets to the usually sold-out Thursday-night Euroleague basketball games of Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the Continent’s best teams; bigwigs have been buying up seats since the 1970s, when the late military hero Moshe Dayan was a courtside regular. The liveliest bar scene is along Lilienblum Street, near the Financial District. Dror Sher, nightlife editor of the weekly Time Out Tel Aviv guide, recommends: Nanuchka, which features food from former Soviet Georgia and a mix of Gypsy and Arab music; Shesek, where the sounds are New Age and electronic; and Abraxas, where top-notch local musicians often play free-admission gigs on weeknights.

Where to Close a Deal
It’s possible to have that final handshake in the lobby lounge of a big hotel, particularly at the Tel Aviv Hilton. But many prefer a celebratory meal at Moul Yam, in the Old Tel Aviv Port—practically everyone’s choice for the country’s best restaurant—or the French fare and spectacular decor of Chloelys, near the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange. Alternatively, you can raise a glass of a surprisingly good Israeli vintage at the Yo’ezer Wine Bar, near the Clock Tower in the Old Jaffa area.

Airport Intelligence
The new Ben-Gurion International terminal is strained at the beginning and end of summer vacation (late June, and just before September 1) and around the Jewish New Year period in the fall. Circumvent crowds all the time with a VIP limo service such as IsraLimo, which picks you up at the airway gate and whisks you through passport control, baggage claim, and customs ($95 for up to four passengers, plus about $100 for the chauffeured ride to Tel Aviv) Alternatives to the city are a cab (about $25 to most hotels) or a train from the station just outside the terminal entrance ($3 for a 15-minute ride to the Arlozorov Street train station, plus a $7 to $10 cab ride to most hotels).

Local Codes
Israelis are as informal in dress as they are in manner. High-tech business hosts are likely to come to a meeting in khakis and sandals and move to a first-name basis immediately. The well-known Israeli penchant for innovation and creativity has its downside, however, in often less-than-perfect preparation for meetings, as well as an off-putting-to-some propensity to brush off difficult questions with the Hebrew expression yiyeh b’seder (“it will be all right”). And though Israel is in the Middle East, don’t worry about regional customs such as long exchanges of niceties over tiny cups of dark sweet coffee. Israelis tend to be very direct and get right to the point.

The Three-Hour Tour
Explore central Tel Aviv, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003 thanks to the thousands of examples of the 1930s International Style of architecture clustered along Rothschild Boulevard and its side streets, such as Ahad Ha’am (where you’ll find the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange). Many of the buildings were designed by architects influenced by the Bauhaus School and the works of Le Corbusier. Sample the city’s mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures, with a touch of almost everything else thrown in, by ambling along the seaside promenade.

–Hanan Sher