Our guide was extremely knowledgeable & presented a great tour. The best things about this trip was how we were able to dodge the long lines by knowing back ways into the gardens, being able to customize out trip by buying tram tickets to start at the top & work our way down & to find a charming, non-touristy cafe for some water, pastries & a brief respite off of our feet. I would highly recommend this trip to see Prague.
A Journey through Jewish Amsterdam
3-Hour Tour
Explore a hip historic neighborhood
Anne Frank House, Noordermarkt, and Johnny Jordaan Square
Explore Amsterdam’s Jewish Cultural Quarter, which houses 400 years of Jewish Amsterdammers history in one square kilometer, with a Jewish Studies scholar. Jewish people were a vital part of Amsterdam’s economic life, and were among the better-off populations of Jews in Europe all the way until the Holocaust. We’ll visit both Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues, including the still-functioning Portuguese Synagogue, and stopping along way way to hear the stories of famous Jewish figures, such as the philosopher Spinoza and entertainment entrepreneur Abraham Tuschinski. We conclude with a sobering visit to the Dutch Theatre, which during WWII was the assembly and deportation center of Jews from Amsterdam.
Discover Jewish life in historic Amsterdam – their trades, customs, and contributions to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Europe as a whole.
Explore the Portuguese Synagogue, one of the largest and best-preserved of its kind in Europe. View the awe-inspiring candlelit interior and an intact 17th-century library, the Ets Haim, the world’s oldest functioning Jewish library.
Pause to reflect at the Holocaust Names Monument, featuring over 102,000 engraved names of Dutch Holocaust victims, consisting of mirrored brick walls forming the Hebrew letters for “In memoriam” when viewed from above.
View the once-vibrant Jewish theater, Hollandsche Schouwburg, repurposed by the Nazis as a deportation center during the Holocaust. Today, the theater memorializes the 104,000 Dutch Jews who perished in concentration camps.
Tour Details
Price
$480
Departure time
Daily except Saturdays, 9:30 AM and 2:00 PM
Meeting point
Entrance to the Jewish Cultural Quarter, Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, 1011 RH Amsterdam, Netherlands or personal pick-up at your hotel or holiday flat
Availability
Every day except Saturdays and major Jewish holidays
Duration
3 hours
Group size
1-10 persons
Groups of over 10 should contact us at info@insightcities.com in order to get a special rate for their party.
Participation requirements
As this is a walking tour, please contact us if you have any mobility issues or concerns
What to bring
Comfortable walking shoes
About your guide
Read about our Amsterdam guides
Cancellation policy
For cancellations 48 hours prior to your scheduled tour, Insight Cities offers a full refund. We cannot refund cancellations within 48 hours of a scheduled tour as we need to pay our guide.
Overview of Your Tour
Prague Castle: Seat of Kings, Emperors, and Regents
Over the 1,100 years that Prague Castle has presided over Prague from atop Hradčany Hill, it has been the seat of Bohemian kings, holy Roman emperors, and the Hapsburgs’ regents (including the regents famously thrown out of the castle windows by enraged Hussites). The largest castle complex in the world, it has imparted prestige not only on the presidents of the first Czechoslovak Republic but also, more ominously, on the Nazi Reichsprotektors and to the Communist Party chairmen of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. During the Velvet Revolution of 1989, demonstrators filled Prague’s streets with the chant “Havel na Hrad!” (“Vaclav Havel to the Castle!”), a call to reclaim the traditional home of Czech leadership for a new era of democratic governance.
To start your 3-hour Prague Castle walking tour, meet your guide in central Prague for the enjoyable tram ride up to the top of Hradčany Hill – where this imposing castle’s amazing story began.
A Thousand Years of Architectural Change
Constructed and reconstructed in every architectural style, Prague Castle incorporates Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance, and Neoclassical monuments and architecture. Over the centuries, the mighty castle walls have been bombarded by artillery, plundered by marauding armies, and left to deteriorate by indifferent Austrian Emperors.
During phases of feverish reconstruction, the castle’s older structures were renovated according to newer architectural sensibilities, resulting in anachronistic combinations such as the 12th-century St. George Basilica – whose original Romanesque towers loom over an elaborate 17th-century Baroque façade.
At the height of its prominence in the 16th century, Prague Castle was transformed into a cultural center by the eccentric Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, who amassed the largest collection of fine art in Europe and attracted the leading scientists of the day, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, to his court (along with assorted frauds and alchemists).
St. Vitus Cathedral, Saint Wenceslas Chapel, and Vladislav Hall: highlights of your tour
Highlights of this Prague Castle walking tour include a detailed visit to the glorious St. Vitus Cathedral, founded by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, and full of treasures including its bejeweled Saint Wenceslas Chapel and the Art Nouveau window by Alphonse Mucha.
Children will enjoy our stroll through the Golden Lane, where a number of quaint shops served the castle in eras past. We also take in the Vladislav Hall, which was built to host indoor jousting tournaments. Since 1995, parts of the castle have been brilliantly illuminated by lighting paid for by The Rolling Stones as a gift to their friend and former President of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel!
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See What Our Guests are Saying
This is an amazing tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, early and very enthusiastic. By far one of the best tours we have ever taken.
Thanks to Vadim’s extensive knowledge of history, art and architecture we were able travel back in time and see Prague grow from a small settlement to the cultural center and a capital of Roman Empire. Prague gave birth to many artists, poets, and composers. Prague has a lot of amazing history and secrets to share, but only Vadim knows how present it to you.
