Things to Do in Herzliya Beyond the Beach: Contemporary Art, Herzliya Park and the Founders' House
Most visitors see two parts of Herzliya: the seafront hotels and the Crusader ruins at Apollonia. Fair enough. But the city has a few more places worth an hour or an afternoon, and most of them are away from the seafront, where tourists rarely go.
Here's what's there and when it's open, as listed by the municipality and the venues in October 2026. Hours change around the Jewish holidays, so check before you set out.
Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art
The museum opened in 1965. Its first paintings were hung in a flat on Bar Ilan Street. The current building at 4 Ha'banim Street was designed by Yaakov Rechter, one of the country's leading modernist architects and an Israel Prize winner.
It shows contemporary art and only contemporary art, by young Israeli and international artists, across painting, sculpture, video, photography and installation. The programme changes in four cycles a year, each with several solo shows, and the exhibitions tend to pick up the political and social mood of the moment. By 2022 it had staged more than 850 exhibitions.
Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 14:00, Tuesday and Thursday 16:00 to 20:00, closed on Sunday. The museum's own website lists current shows and prices.
Beit Rishonim, the founders' house
At 8 HaNadiv Street, in the old centre, stands the former home of the Chazik family, among the pioneers who built the town after 1924. It's now the city museum, with an archive going back to the founding year and the tools Baruch Chazik used on the early farms and houses.
The garden is part of the point. Baruch Chazik planted it himself with native Israeli trees and plants, and it's free to walk in.
Museum hours: Sunday to Thursday 08:00 to 13:00, with an extra session on Monday from 16:00 to 18:00. The garden is open Sunday to Thursday 08:00 to 13:00 and 16:00 to 19:20, and on Friday mornings.
Herzliya Park
Herzliya Park opened in 2008 on about 250 dunams, some 62 acres, of former farmland in the lowest part of the city. The ground was known by the Arabic name Basa, meaning swamp, and the designers kept its natural hills and hollows instead of flattening them.
There are two bodies of water. A winter pool fills with rain each year and dries out in summer, and a permanent pond holds fish all year. The water draws a wide range of birds on their spring and autumn migration between Europe and Africa.
The rest is built for families: playgrounds, a food forest, a herb and spice garden, a small community library, cafés and a barbecue area. A children's train runs on Saturdays when it can, and there's a trail for extreme mountain biking. Toilets are open from 06:00 to 22:00.
Evenings: stage and screen
The Herzliya Performing Arts Center hosts touring theatre, dance and music. The Herzliya Cinematheque runs art-house, classic and festival films. Heichal Ba'Ir is the city's other theatre hall. All three publish programmes on their own websites, mostly in Hebrew.
A day that covers it
If you only have one day, combine two of these with the coast. Spend the morning at the museum or Herzliya Park, then drive west for the late afternoon at Apollonia National Park and dinner at the marina. For the beaches themselves, see the beach and marina guide.