Ein Hod is a small artists' village tucked into the Carmel mountains south of Haifa. Founded as an artists' colony in 1953 by the Dadaist Marcel Janco, the village is home to painters, sculptors, and craftspeople who live and work in stone houses along winding hillside lanes. Many have their studios open to visitors, and the whole village feels like an open-air gallery.
The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming — artists are happy to show their work and talk about it. An open studio walk takes you past murals, sculptures, and unexpected installations tucked between the houses. The Janco Dada Museum covers his career from the Zurich years to his Israeli work, and the Nisco Museum of Mechanical Music is one of the more unexpected finds on the Carmel coast.
About a mile further up the hill is Ein Hawd, a small Arab village that until recently was unrecognised and off the map. The Abu Yahia restaurant there serves excellent home-cooked Middle Eastern food and is worth the short detour. The Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with prehistoric caves, is 4 kilometres south.
Ein Hod has no public transport. You will need a car to get here.