London: Jewish History Walking Tour & Holocaust Galleries

Options for this experience

2 options

Guide in 9 languages14 departure times, from 07:00 to 21:00

Guide in 9 languages08:00, 09:00, 13:30 and 14:00

You pick the guide language when booking. Options with the same name differ in details you'll see when you pick a date.

You see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates & prices

Where London's Jewish Past Still Stands in the East End

You walk through East London's old Jewish neighborhoods with a private guide, seeing Bevis Marks Synagogue (1701), Sandy Row Synagogue, and Old Spitalfields Market, learning how the community lived and worked there. The 4-hour option adds the Imperial War Museum's Holocaust Galleries with free entry and guided commentary. Public transport tickets are provided for the longer tour, and the guide speaks your language.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Royal Observatory Greenwich25m
2. Tower of London25m
3. Old Spitalfields Market1h
4. Imperial War Museum1h

Explore Jewish history in East London

• Meet guide at Cheval Three Quays
• Learn Jewish history at Tower of London
• Visit Bevis Marks Synagogue exterior
• Explore Old Spitalfields Market area
• Optional visit to Imperial War Museum Holocaust Galleries

The Experience

There's something that pulls you in when you realize a whole neighborhood shaped by a community has mostly vanished, but the buildings, the stories, the weight of what happened there, that's still there. East London holds that. A private Jewish history tour here isn't about checking off landmarks. It's about standing in front of Bevis Marks Synagogue, the country's oldest Jewish place of worship, opened in 1701, and understanding how a whole world lived and worked around it. Your guide meets you at the Cheval Three Quays on Lower Thames Street, and from there, the walk traces what remains: the synagogues, the soup kitchens, the Yiddish theaters, the kosher shops that served London's Jewish immigrants, especially through the 19th and 20th centuries.

The tour starts with the Tower of London, not the tourist version, but the medieval history underneath it. Your guide explains how the Tower was both a place of imprisonment and refuge for hundreds of Jews during the expulsion of Anglo-Jewry in the 12th and 13th centuries. It's a hard history, and it sets the tone for what comes next. You move through the neighborhoods where the community actually lived and prayed, past the exteriors of Sandy Row Synagogue and around Old Spitalfields Market, where many Jews worked and worshipped. The guide (fluent in your chosen language and trained in this specific history) fills in the map as you walk: where people gathered, what they built, what they lost.

If you choose the 4-hour option, you take public transport (tickets provided) to the Imperial War Museum, where the Holocaust Galleries sit. This isn't a casual add-on. The galleries hold individual stories from some of the 6 million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust across Europe's ghettos and concentration camps. Entry is free, and the guide walks you through it, grounding the vast tragedy in the particular lives and choices of people. The whole day (whether you do two hours or four) stays with you differently than a standard London tour because it's built around one community's presence and absence, not around what's famous.

What’s included

• A private guided tour of London's old Jewish neighborhood, including the exteriors of Bevis Marks Synagogue and Sandy Row Synagogue, and a walk through Old Spitalfields Market.
• Your guide provides detailed commentary on Anglo-Jewish history and culture throughout.
• In the 4-hour option, you also receive free admission to the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum, public transport tickets to reach the museum, and a guided tour of the galleries themselves.
• The guide is licensed and fluent in your chosen language.

Days and timesDaily · 14 departure times, from 07:00 to 21:00

Meeting point and pickupNo pickup · ends where it startsMeeting point, per the operator: “Meet your guide In front of the Cheval Three Quays, 40 Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6AG, UK. Please do not enter the hotel, it is only a meeting point and the r…”

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by UK Tours & Activites

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to understand a specific community's history in London rather than collect famous sites: the private guide and focused route mean you spend the whole time learning about one neighborhood's past, not rushing between tourist checkpoints.

Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Polish.

How long is the tour?

Two hours for the Jewish history walking tour, or four hours if you add the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum.

Where do we meet?

In front of the Cheval Three Quays, 40 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6AG. It's a meeting point only. Don't enter the hotel.

What synagogues do we visit?

You see the exteriors of Bevis Marks Synagogue (the oldest Jewish place of worship in the country, opened 1701) and Sandy Row Synagogue. Bevis Marks is in the City. Sandy Row is near Old Spitalfields Market.

Is entry to the Holocaust Galleries included?

Yes, but only in the 4-hour option. The 2-hour tour does not include the museum. Entry is free with the tour.

Do I need to pay for public transport?

No. If you book the 4-hour option, the guide provides all necessary London Underground or bus tickets to reach the Imperial War Museum.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes. All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible, and public transportation options are available nearby. Infants can ride in a pram or stroller.

Can I bring children?

Yes. The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Infants must sit on an adult's lap, and small children can ride in a pram or stroller.