Thessaloniki Jewish Heritage - Private Experience - 4 hrs
Description
This a Jewish Heritage walking tour in Thessaloniki's city centre, where the main Jewish community used to live and work for centuries. Although not much of the old buildings is nowadays preserved, due to the terrible fire of 1917 and the World War II distructions, the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki opens the main sites related to the Jewish Heritage. This tour can be done in the mornings only, when the sites are open until 14.00 - not on Saturdays. Stay tuned for update messages from your guide about exact times. A longer tour can also be arranged upon request by private transportation to see the east-side of the city with the old Jewish villas of the early 20th century, the new Jewish cemetery on the west-end and also the old railway station, known for the Holocaust deportation of 50.000 Jews by the Nazis by trains. Visits to the Jewish Museum and the synagogue request a pre-booking by your guide, with full name, passport and nationality details to be sent in advance.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Monastoriotes is the so-called "old" synagogue of the city, recently renovated and is visited upon request and appointment your guide books for you, with passport details needed for all visitors. The admission fee is included in the combination ticket of 7 EUR together with the Jewish museum guided visit.
The new synagogue, nowadays used for the daily services by the Jewish Community of the city
The famous 1930 Modiano covered market has just been refurbished and is now open! It houses many small food shops, named after the city's architect, Eli Modiano.
The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki is housed in a historical building. We'll see the exhibitions on the old Jewish cemetery, traditional clothes and religious items from the old synagogues and a photo display on the history of the Jews in the city from antiquity to modern times. You can buy books and souvenirs from the small museum shop. The admission fee for the museum and the synagogue is a combination ticket of 7 EUR per person.
The Holocaust Memorial is by the seafront, on the Liberty Square. You'll see the sculpure which represents the holocaust with seven flames, in the shape of the Menorah and human bodies, created by Nandor Glid in 1997. You'll hear about the Black Sabbath day, which took place in the very same square.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(44)
Comprehensive look at the fascinating and unique history of the Jews in Thessaloniki. Knowledgeable, pleasant guide.
Thanks a lot, I appreciate your kind words about my private Jewish Heritage tour of my city
Very nice comprehensive tour including old and new synagogues and many other Jewish sites. Guide was knowledgeable and pleasant.
Dear David, Thanks a lot for your review and kind words for my private Jewish Heritage tour. I appreciate it a lot. Take care! Efi Kalampoukidou
We have our tour with Efi and she was very professional. She knows a lot about the Jewish community and she gave us very good explanations. If you are traveling to Thessaloniki we really recommend this tour.
Thank you for your kind words and review on my private Jewish Heritage tour. Glad you enjoyed it!
We enjoyed every minute of this extensive tour of the long history which the Jewish presence in Thessaloniki has. Efi’s extensive knowledge, which she shared with us made it a very worthwhile experience.
Great to hear you enjoyed my private tour in my city. Thank you!
We very much enjoyed the 4-hour Jewish Heritage tour of Thessaloniki. the explanations were comprehensive, interesting and well structured without heaviness or lengths. I highly recommend this service for anyone who wishes to know the impact of the Jewish community on the development of the city of Thessaloniki.
Huge thanks, my dears! I'm so glad you enjoyed my private tour in my city! 😊
Great tour, very good professional guide Effi explained that history fantastically, learned a lot and had a lot of fun, highly recommended!
Wow! Great to read your review on my tour, especially by experts like you are! Thank you!
Efi was very knowledgeable in the history of the Jews of Saloniki Very informative and polite. I learned new information
Thank you very much. I appreciate your review about my private Jewish Heritage tour in my city.
Efi was extremely knowledgeable and conducted the tour at a good pace. We walked around the centre of Thessaloniki and Efi pointed out things we would not have seen or known without the tour
Thanks a lot for your time to write such a great review for my private Jewish Heritage tour of Thessaloniki! I really appreciate it.
Efi was both a guide and a historian. She is dedicated to the survival of history. Within 5 months the Nazis deported almost 60,000 Jews to Aushwitz, wiping out more than 90% of Jews who had lived in Greece and Macedonia since biblical times. Efi is also a compassionate story teller. No one could be a better guide and companion
Happy to read that you liked my private Jewish Heritage tour in my city. Thanks a lot for your kind words written!
Efi is very knowledgable but it was a 3/hour recitation of facts and figures and buildings. Disappointed in lack of color, storytelling, charm, or narrative of interesting unusual Jewish personalities - it was all about the business families whose names still grace the buildings. Very dry.
Dear Eve, I'm sorry you did not enjoy my private Jewish Heritage tour, but you don't mention that you attended only half of it. My full private tour always starts with the introduction on the history of Thessaloniki's Jewish Community from the ancient till the modern times so my guests can first have the historical, cultural and political background with some basic facts before they attend the rest of the tour. You did not want to continue to the rest of the walk, so you missed the visit to the Jewish Museum, to some central streets and to the Holocaust Memorial with me, which means that you missed many more stories and narrative I always share with my guests in different places. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay in Greece and thank you for visiting my city.
