When 5,000 England football fans descend on Tel Aviv this weekend, the Israelis will be waiting for them. It’s a rare thing for groups, which are neither pilgrims nor Jewish families, to visit the Holy Land. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism, however, is trying to encourage tourists to “Think Israel” when choosing a holiday and the local city council will welcome the fans with open arms and a huge street party.

For all their anxieties and prejudices - and its hard not to have them given the Western media’s coverage of the Middle East - the fans may be pleasantly surprised to find a city as much like Barcelona as Beirut. Tel Aviv is a vibrant, secular city on the Mediterranean. Its sandy beachfront lined with hotels is home to surfers and sundown drum rituals at one end and, at the other, a regenerated port area with wavy decking, designer boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

Built on the West Coast dunes, Tel Aviv is a modern city less than 100 years old. Its original downtown area, known as the White City, is rich in 1930s Bauhaus style architecture and listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2003. Today, part of Tel Aviv is, in fact, undergoing a Manhattan-style makeover with recent residential projects designed by the likes of Philippe Starck and Richard Meier.

“Tel Aviv plays, Haifa works, Jerusalem prays” is the popular saying. On the whole the city is not an especially pretty place but, from street performers to open-air markets, there’s plenty going on. And it’s all manageable on foot – the beach to Dizengoff, the main central avenue, is less than a 15-minute stroll.

England fans will be pleased to know that there are no shortage of bars (including the ubiquitous Irish pubs), and clubs stay open well into the early hours. Underground dance bar The Breakfast Club (6 Rothschild Street) is one of the hottest spots in town, and Dome is a mega club on Hatzfira Street.

You can sleep off the effects of the night before on one of the city’s beaches. There are five miles of white sands to choose from. Gordon beach is busy and trendy, while Hilton beach is a smaller chilled-out affair popular with local surfers. The broad beachside promenade runs from North Tel Aviv nearly into Jaffa and bustles with activity until well past midnight.

In contrast to the city’s many lively avenues, the Neve Tzedek quarter has the laid-back feel of hidden Athens – artisan workshops, Jazz cafes and ice cream parlours punctuate streets of scruffy two-storey residences.

Carmel market, with its mix of Jewish Arabian and Eastern European traders, offers a hint of the noisy Middle Eastern souk. Hordes of people haggle over CDs, shoes, fresh produce including bumper winter strawberries and gleaming dates, spices and bagels. It’s a great place to grab a freshly pressed pomegranate juice and falafel with all the trimmings.

True, many of Israel’s historical sights are in Jerusalem. But Jaffa, the oldest working port in the world, gives a flavour of the past – and is within walking distance of Tel Aviv. Wandering among its Turkish style dwellings in the quiet narrow lanes of the Artists’ quarter feels a world apart from the downtown city.

As well as an array of watersports on this coast, Israel’s only 18-hole golf course is an hour north of the city at Caesarea, home to some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the Middle East.

NEED TO KNOW

With the pound strong against the shekel (£1 is about 8 Israeli new shekels) top-bracket hotels are affordable. There are rooms for under £100 a night at the plush David Intercontinental Hotel (03-7951111; www.interconti.com). The David has a huge atrium filled with plants, a no frills spa and overlooks the mosque and the coast.

Cadogan Holidays (0800 082 1006; www.cadoganholidays.com) has seven nights at the five-star Dan Hotel, Tel Aviv, from £1,309pp, with flights from Heathrow.

Peltours (020 8958 3188; www.peltours.com) has seven nights at the three-star Melody Hotel from £659pp, with flights from Heathrow.