Private Jewish Walking Tours in Toronto
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
More than just a recitation of facts gleaned from books or the internet, this tour goes behind the facades to talk about what went on in the buildings that we'll see, how the people who lived and worked in them dealt with one another and the larger, non-Jewish world. The tour guide lived in the area as a young man. He’s davened (prayed) in its synagogues, patronized its shops and restaurants, explored its past, lived some of its history, and even performed on some of its stages. He's a world class authority on Yiddish language and culture who has appeared on NBC’s Today show and NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
Inclusions
What's included
- Occasional Yiddish language instruction
Itinerary
The early history of Toronto's Jewish community through mass immigration of the late 19th-early 20th century.
Original character of the neighbourhood. Establishment of Jewish institutions, absorption of immigrants.
Government immigration policies, Jewish reaction to them.
Formerly Eitz Chaim school. Colourful characters in the school's history.
George Brown House. Some non-Jewish Canadian context. The Jewish history of the public school next door.
We'll learn some interesting details about the commercial history of the street as we walk through it to Henry St.
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, formerly the Henry Street synagogue. Synagogue architecture. Early synagogues and Toronto's first Jewish architects.
Rabbi of the Henry Street Synagogue. 206 and 207 Beverley: Introduction to Cecil Street as institutional hub of the older Jewish community. 24 Cecil Street: Labour Zionist HQ and school. Its later political history. 33-58 Cecil Street: An overview of the Jewish organizations and institutions once housed here. Cecil Street Community Centre: The building's past as a synagogue and centre of traditional entertainment.
Northbound from Cecil St to the El Mocambo: The less traditional side of the neighbourhood. Spadina Avenue cowboys of the 1930s and '40s. Southbound, back to Cecil Street: Grossman's Tavern, commercial development on the street and the Spadina music scene. Spadina Avenue, west side at Baldwin Street: How Kensington became a market. Spadina, between Dundas and St. Andrew St: Yiddish theatre, delicatessens, dairy restaurants, and the history of the hat trick.
The Minsker Synagogue. St. Andrew St. as the neighbourhood in miniature. Labour Lyceum across the street. History of the synagogue, the first in the kensington area
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.7
- 58
- 41
- 31
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 10 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Outside the main entrance
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Toronto Jewish Walking Tours
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Toronto
- Its from-price is 65% below the median of the 603 experiences we list in Toronto.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 168 of 603.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Toronto
Toronto is Canada's biggest city, set on the shore of Lake Ontario, a patchwork of neighbourhoods under the tall needle of the CN Tower.
The CN Tower, 553 metres high, dominates a downtown skyline of glass towers, and the harbourfront below runs along Lake Ontario with ferries to the largely car-free Toronto Islands. The Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario are major collections, the St Lawrence Market is a long-established food hall, and the Distillery District has cobbled lanes between Victorian brick factories.
Top-ranked sights in Toronto: CN Tower, St. Lawrence Market, Entertainment District.
Special offers in Toronto
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
