21 reviews

Jewish Vilnius Tour

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Get acquainted with the community that earned Vilnius the nickname “the Jerusalem of Lithuania” and learn about the times that changed the face of the city forever.

Duration: 2.5 hours

Available in

English

I joined the two hour walking tour dedicated to the history of the Jews in Vilnius. The tour became one of the high points on my 6th visit to Vilnius. I had never taken a guided walking tour before, and this tour gave me much more than I had expected, thanks to the very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, Milda Jukniute.
I had been reading in advance about the time in history when Vilnius was known as the Jerusalem of East Europe. Milda gave us a very good introduction to this period, and how the Jewish community in town lived through the centuries up until the begining of the Second World War. On our wals she took us into small, hidden courtyards to show us how family life had been and the dwellings of famous religious persons and artists.

Then the tour took on a much more dark atmosphere, as we walked through the areas of the town where the small and the large gettho had been located during the war. Not much remains of the buildings now, but wherever it was something to see, she pointed it out for us. It would have been impossible to find these remains without a local guide. The tour ended with a very interesting visit to the only fuctioning synagogue in Vilnius.

I can really reccommend this walking tour, as it gave a very good insight in both the glorious and the dark side of the Jewish history in Vilnius. Our guide Milda was absolutely excellent, and for a Norwegian it came as an extra bonus that she spoke Norwegian fluently! (The guiding was done in English for the benefit of the other participants, and her English was also outstanding)

Reviewed by Per

Highlights

Walk the streets of the former Jewish quarter
Explore areas that were Jewish ghettos during World War II
Get acquainted with litvaks – Lithuanian Jews

Description

Vilnius’ streets were once full of little shops with Yiddish and Polish names. There were more than 100 synagogues and houses of worship. Thousands of Jews wandered the narrow streets of their beloved city. There was a rivalry between Jewish and Catholic merchants and craftsmen. These are just some of the things you won’t see today, but were a big part of Vilnius, or Wilno, or Vilna…

We invite you to go back in time and remember the Jewish world that existed. Wander around the streets bearing traces of the community that earned Vilnius the nickname “the Jerusalem of Lithuania”.

Get acquainted with a Litvak (Lithuanian Jew) who was known for his love of learning, as well as some famous personalities including a Jewish doctor whom children adored, a Jewish genius who could only sleep for two hours a day and a stubborn Litvak who preferred studying more than socialising.

Visit the only synagogue that’s still in use today. Learn more about the time that had such disastrous consequences for Vilnius’ Jewish inhabitants and find out what happened to them while walking the streets of former Jewish ghettos.

What’s included & not included

NB! Entrance to the synagogue - additional 1 EUR!

Check availability of the tour:

Check availability

Meeting point

Left side of the stairs of Vilnius Town Hall (Didzioji g. 31)

Pickup options are available for private tour bookings.

Reviews from travellers (21)

5.0/5

Knowledgeable

Reviewed by Joel • May 17, 2019

Very good guide ¡

Reviewed by Sergio • April 08, 2019

Interesting & thought provoking

We had a really enjoyable & interesting tour of Jewish Vilnius seeing things we would never have seen had we tried to do it on our own. Our guide, Rita, was friendly, informative and helpful. It was one of the highlights of our visit to Vilnius.

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Reviewed by Howard • February 17, 2019

Great tour

Guide MIlda guided us during Jewish Vilnius Tour.
A Lot of interesting information, during a 2 hours walk.

Reviewed by Bert • February 05, 2019

Informative and sensitive experience.

The tour was very interesting and informative. A must for me since my tour company only touched on the lives of the Jewish people who were a major part of local history. Our guide was very knowledgeable and also sensitive.

Reviewed by Wendy • October 12, 2018

Fascinating

We found our tour fascinating, and our guide thoughtful and extremely knowledgable, and we would highly recommend the tour to any visitor to Vilnius

Reviewed by Ruth • September 24, 2018

Excellent tour

We ordered the tour online and ended being all by ourselves. The tour guide, Martina was very knowledgeable and informative and was able to answer all of our questions. I definitely recommend this important tour to anyone who comes to Vilnius.
Thanks again to Martina!

Reviewed by Susan • September 04, 2018

Excellent ~~ An essential tour

My friend and myself went on the bespoke Jewish Tour , our guide was Milda. This began at the villnius town hall with a very clear orientation from Milda, then a walk around the old city that contained so much history. Deeply moving as I have family and my friend is from family who lived in Villnius. Milda was able to give us clear insight as well as deep sensitivity in the way she conducted the tour.
Thankyou !!!!

Reviewed by Sarah • July 05, 2018

The tour was very informative, interesting and provoked reflection.

We went on this tour not without bias. The topic is quite painful and controversial. We were very pleased with the quality of our guide Mrs. Milda Jukniūtė. Her intellectual level, knowledge, and mainly tactfully put accents, won our appreciation and respect. The tour was very informative, interesting and provoked reflection. The guide of such a level gives credit to the city.

Victor Steinberg, The Harry de Jur Professor of Physics. Weizmann Institute of Science.
Sophie Steinberg, Ph.D.

Reviewed by Sophie • June 26, 2018

Fascinating insight into my ancestors!

Friendly and informative walk through Jewish History.

Reviewed by Fiona • May 22, 2018

BRILLIANT

Informative. Brilliant. Easy going. Inexpensive. Brilliant. No watch clocking. Time just went by. Oh by the way it was BRILLIANT. Guide Brilliant, knew her stuff. Helpful as well as being patient. I'd do it again because seriously there is so much to take on board and learn particularly if you have family connections to the old part of Vilnius. Suddenly the words you heard from your late parents now have meaning and value. OH did I say it was BRILLIANT ?

Just go !!

And book.

Reviewed by Raphael • April 24, 2018

Very nice informative tour!

Tour was very nice, guide also))

Reviewed by Inna • December 02, 2017

Amazing tour, amazing guide, a must see!

This is one of the best tour I ever had! The tour was guided by Milda who is a young MA student. Her knowledge of the dark period of Vilnius as well as the way she tells the story of the jews and the city is mesmerising.. I highly recommend the tour. It is a must see while you are in Vilnius!!

Reviewed by MICHAL • November 14, 2017

Informative and detailed - excellent value!

My wife and I joined two traveling companions for the Jewish Vilnius Tour, conducted by Milda. The tour took about 2-1/2 hours, winding through the streets of the former Jewish community as well as the areas where the WWII ghettoes were established, stopping at several monuments and building remnants. The pace was perfect for relatively active seniors. Our guide, Milda, was very well-informed on both past and current events regarding Jews in Vilnius, offering detailed history, useful context, and personal insights from her own experience and research. She eas personable, patient with our questions, curious about her guests, and spoke clearly, with a very good command of English. Thank you!

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Reviewed by Harold • August 05, 2017

excellent -- informative -- enjoyable

milda, our tour guide, was excellent -- well-prepared, well-informed, and sharing in what she knew

she was also very relaxed and generous in allowing us to take part in the conversation

highly recommended

Reviewed by Ayad • June 30, 2017

Meaningful Tour

We enjoyed our tour very much. Our guide, was great, very informative and responsive to our needs. We were fortunate to have a tour of our own which allowed for lots of questions and interaction.

At the end of the tour we were able to visit the Jewish Cultural Center and do some genealogy, get pointers on websites, and the director offered her email if we needed further assistants.

Milda was so kind to send a link to some information we were discussing. We would recommend her to anyone who wants a through and thoughtful guide. She helped make our stay in Vilnius very meaningful.

Reviewed by Caren • June 24, 2017

Jewish Vilnius: Heaven and Hell

Reviewed by Per • May 08, 2017

Very knowledgeable and personable.

We took this tour on Friday. It was only three of us. We enjoyed her company and answered all our questions. She followed up with some additional information we had requested on a very timely basis. Thank you.

Reviewed by David • November 07, 2016

Great tour!

The tour guide Mielda was great and clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the topic. The group size was very good, six people which allow time for questions and interest. I would strongly recommend this tour.

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Reviewed by Joseph • September 22, 2016

See History With Your Own Eyes

Milda was our guide for both the free tour and the Jewish tour and she was easily the best guide we had for any of our tours in Vilnius.

This tour is in-depth and it's pretty incredible to see things you've only heard about in history books with your own eyes. She even showed us Yiddish signs still left from before the war!

Take the back roads with Milda and you will not be disappointed!

Reviewed by Katarina • June 19, 2016

Do the Jewish tour!

For the Jewish tour we did a private tour, because we wouldn't be in town on the days they have the regular tours. Milda was great. You couldn't believe she is not Jewish! It's very interesting, no matter your religion. It gives a great view of how a community lived during a period of time, how politics and religion affected the history of two groups of people (Lithuanians and jews) and helps to understand the current scenario of the jewish people and the country. It's not a gloomy tour, I promise!

Reviewed by Alex, TripAdvisor • June 11, 2016

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People:

Starting time:

Language:

Total price:

0 EUR

Go to booking

Full refund if you cancel up to 72 hours before the tour
No booking fees
Pay by credit card or PayPal

Tour operated by: Vilnius with Locals

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21 reviews

Jewish Vilnius Tour

12 EUR

Highlights

Description

What’s included & not included

Check availability of the tour:

Meeting point

Reviews from travellers (21)

5.0/5

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