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  • 9 Reviews

    Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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  • Toronto, Canada

Private Jewish Walking Tours in Toronto

  • 2 hours (approx.)

  • Mobile ticket

  • Offered in: English

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.

What to Expect

Private tour
9 stops
10 places
2 hrs duration

Stop at: Art Gallery of Ontario

10 min Admission not included

The early history of Toronto's Jewish community through mass immigration of the late 19th-early 20th century.

Stop at: 136 Beverley St

7 min

Original character of the neighbourhood. Establishment of Jewish institutions, absorption of immigrants.

Stop at: 147 Beverley St

3 min

Government immigration policies, Jewish reaction to them.

Stop at: 70 D'Arcy St

4 min

Formerly Eitz Chaim school. Colourful characters in the school's history.

Stop at: 186 Beverley St

3 min

George Brown House. Some non-Jewish Canadian context. The Jewish history of the public school next door.

Pass by: Baldwin Street

We'll learn some interesting details about the commercial history of the street as we walk through it to Henry St.

Stop at: 23 Henry St

10 min

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, formerly the Henry Street synagogue. Synagogue architecture. Early synagogues and Toronto's first Jewish architects.

Stop at: Cecil Street

24 min

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.

Stop at: Spadina Avenue

26 min

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.

Stop at: 10 St Andrew St

5 min

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

Meeting And Pickup

Start time:

10:00 AM

Additional Info

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the start time, the amount paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience's local time.
This experience requires good weather. If canceled due to poor weather, you'll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If canceled because the minimum isn't met, you'll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Customer Reviews

Source: Viator and Tripadvisor

4.7

9 total reviews

Rating Distribution

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Starting from

CA$55.00

per person

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