Haifa City

Haifa Israel Neighborhoods

The city of Haifa encourages new immigrants and returning Israelis to settle there by offering them special benefits. Haifa offers all kinds of housing possibilities and is the most reasonably priced of Israel’s three major cities. For further information Email: haifa1@haifa.muni.il

Baha’i Gardens (Photo: Judyboaz, CC BY-SA 3.0)

In general, housing prices in the downtown areas are lower. The higher up one goes on the Carmel, and the better the view, the higher the prices. Haifa has many interesting and diverse neighborhoods, such as neighborhoods that are secular, religious, mixed, and a few that are chareidi (ultra-orthodox). There are neighborhoods that are Arab Christian, some that are Arab Moslem, and other neighborhoods that are mixed Jewish and Arab. Haifa was settled by large numbers of German Jews in the 1930s and later by Holocaust survivors from Eastern Europe and new immigrants from Arab lands. They all left their mark on the neighborhoods they lived in.

Today, some of Haifa’s neighborhoods have large numbers of immigrants from the West, mainly English and French speaking, and neighborhoods where Russian is the most common language. Several neighborhoods surround the University of Haifa and the Technion. You can find neighborhoods with blocs of large apartment buildings and neighborhoods with single-family homes. Take your pick! Haifa really has something for everyone.

View From Stella Maris Observatory (Photo: Deror Avi, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Haifa Map

Western Haifa includes the Mediterranean seashore, beaches and the slopes of Mount Carmel and the neighborhoods of Kiryat Eliezer, Kiryat Shprinzak, Ein Hayam, Sha’ar Ha’aliya, Neve David and Bat Galim. Bat Galim, established in the 1920s, was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built and is the location of the Rambam Medical Center and Medical School. Sites of interest in this area are Tel Shikmona, the Cave of Eliyahu Hanavi, and the cable car from Stella Maris to the beach.

Building in the German Colony (Photo: צילום: אליזבת גולדסטון, CC BY 2.5)

Lower town neighborhoods are mainly poorer, but also have historical sites and commercial and government buildings. Residents of Lower Town East are mainly Arabs and new immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Lower Town West is mainly Arab but contains the historical German Colony, which has become Haifa’s main entertainment district. The Bay Area is mainly commercial and the eastern side has the oil refineries, the petrochemical companies and waste-treatment plant. The Haifa Ports, Kishon Port, Haifa Airport, Marina and three museums are also there. 

Nachla, a Neighbourhood in Hadar (Photo: Orrling, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Hadar, Haifa

The Hadar area neighborhoods are between the northern slopes and the Lower Town area. One neighborhood, Hadar West, is mainly Arab and is the home of the Bahai Gardens. Hadar Mercaz has many new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and also many cultural sites.

Hadar Elyon and Hadar East are mainly ultra-orthodox/chareidi and include the Hassidic Kiryat Vizhnitz. There are many religious institutions in Hadar, a mikveh, and the main synagogue of Haifa on Herzl Street. Rabbi Gabriel Wolfowitz is the rabbi of both the main synagogue and of Hadar. A group of young, religious families formed a a garin Torani and moved to Hadar from all over Israel, where they opened a religious community center.

Near Haifa

The Krayot are towns just to the northeast of Haifa next to Haifa’s industrial area and include Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Shmuel.

Only Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Shmuel are officially part of the city of Haifa, whereas the others are separate municipalities. Many young couples have flocked to this area, attracted by lower-priced housing. Kiryat Haim has entertainment spots and a beautiful beach, a part of which is sectioned off to provide separate bathing areas for men and women.

Kiryat Shmuel just to the north of Kiryat Haim is a religious neighborhood that closes off its roads on the Sabbath and Jewish Holidays. There are national religious, chareidi, hassidic, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews living there. There is a small English-speaking community, some of whose residents are students at the Technion. In the last 10 years it has seen a lot of growth with the construction of many new housing projects. Many of the residents commute to Haifa by train.

Haifa City: Did You Know?

Haifa was in the portion of land allotted to the Tribe of Zevulan.