Jewish Heritage tours to the Baltics
Tallinn - Riga - Kaunas - Vilnius

These Jewish tours to the Baltic countries and the cities of Vilnius, Kaunas, Riga and Tallinn are essential for the sophisticated traveler. Come with us to former Jewish Homelands, where Torah was studied, great Jewish thoughts were put to paper, and the sound of Yiddish caressed the villages.

Along with your local Jewish guide, you will encounter still-viable Jewish communities, gaining first-hand experience of the influential extent of centuries of Jewish life in these countries. You will also delight in some of Europe's little known pearls (Medieval Tallinn in Estonia is cited on many current lists as one of Europe's most exciting cities). Consider bringing your children or grandchildren to join the chain of history - it is a Moment of Heritage.

Day 01 Tuesday Arrival in Tallinn
Upon arrival in Tallinn airport or at the pier, meet your Tour Director. Transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour in the Old Town of Tallinn, situated next to your hotel. Welcome dinner. Sokos Hotel.

Day 02  Wednesday Tallinn
Breakfast. This morning, enjoy a tour of the charming city of Tallinn, Estonia, rated by several travel magazines as one of Europe's best-kept secrets, and placed on UNESCO's list of "World Heritage" sites. Drive to the Old Town on top of a hill, to find breathtaking views of the tiled roofs and colorful houses below. Stroll the beautifully preserved medieval streets and become a part of Tallinn's thousand year-old history. Walk past the impressive Alexander Nevski Cathedral to the Town Hall Square. Continue to the intimate Jewish Center for Lunch and visit the new Tallinn Synagogue. Drive to the Kadriorg Palace, built by Peter the Great of Russia, and now the home of the President of Estonia. Remainder of the day at leisure. Sokos Hotel.

Day 03 Thursday Tallinn - Riga
Breakfast.    Leave Tallinn by coach and drive south to the border to the Republic of Latvia. Upon arrival, begin a Jewish tour in Riga, visit the small but informative Jewish Documentation Center, part of a museum which exhibits Jewish Life from the 18th Century to the present. This Center vividly illustrates how the Jews played a major role among intellectual Latvian society, and how their magnificent community was nonetheless cruelly destroyed during the Holocaust. The newest historic section of this museum illustrates how Jewish Life in Latvia was reborn after its independence; the exhibit is named: "The Jewish People Survived!"   Later, visit the chic "Art Nouveau" District, where many prominent Jewish Latvians, among them the philosopher Sir Isaiah Berlin, once lived. Riga has one of the world's most impressive collections of authentic Art Nouveau architecture, and uniquely offers streets whose buildings are preserved almost entirely in this early 20th Century style. Dinner. Avalon Hotel.
 
Day 04 Friday Riga
Breakfast. Enjoy a full day of sightseeing. Visit the only remaining Synagogue in Riga, which today serves as the central meeting place for the Jews of Latvia. Standing since the beginning of the 20th century, the synagogue was most likely spared from burning due to its fortunate location in the Old Town, where fires could be devastating to the surrounding buildings. Continue a tour of the Old Town, including the Castle of Riga, the Dome Cathedral, the Swedish gate and barracks, the Great and Small Guilds, Cat’s House, Three Brothers, House of the “Blackheads,” and St. Peter’s Church. Lunch with members of the Community. Next, drive to well-maintained, Russian-inspired Cemetery, and view the Bikerniki Memorial to the victims of the Nazis. At this site, obscured by dense forest, the Nazis herded thousand of victims to be executed and buried in the anonymity of mass graves. Jews were brought from as far away as Austria and Germany; many Latvians and Russians were killed as well. The current monument was unveiled in 2001; it illustrates the persistent Jewish soul and its refusal to be forgotten. Back in the city, stop at the site of the Ghetto, where only small traces remain of the brave Jewish life within. A short stroll takes you to the ruins of the Chorale Synagogue, cruelly torched by the Nazis as the congregation prayed inside. Friday night Dinner. Avalon Hotel.
 
Day 05 Saturday Riga
Breakfast. A full day at leisure to participate in services, browse the charming town of Riga, or take a pre-arranged excursion to ancestral homes, villages, or towns. Avalon Hotel.
 
Day 06 Sunday Riga - Kaunas (Kovno) - Vilnius (Vilna)
Breakfast. Depart Riga this morning, heading for the border of the Republic of Lithuania (Lita), where Jews lived for hundreds of years. Continue along roads along which flash images of "shtetls" and golden fields of grain, ready to be harvested. En route, stop at Joniskis (Yonishok), a shtetl near the Lithuanian-Latvian border, with its courtyard of two Synagogues. Drive to Hill of Crosses, (the “Lithuanian Golgotha”), a site of Catholic pilgrimage. On this tiny hill, located north of Siauliai, stand over 250,000 crosses, symbolic of Lithuania’s resistance against foreign rule. Continue to Kedainiai, citadel of the Radziwils (one of the most powerful noble families of Lithuania) and the town where the Vilna Gaon lived and worked. Three synagogues remain. Lunch is served en route to Kovno. Later, begin a Jewish Tour in Kovno with a visit the notorious Ninth Fort on the outskirts of the town, where Jews were imprisoned overnight, only to be executed in the surrounding open fields in the morning. Visit the Museum within the fort and pay respects at the memorials on the surrounding grounds. Continue to the site of the once-vibrant Ghetto of Kaunas, ultimately incinerated by the Nazis. Stand at the spot where the members of the Kaunas Ghetto once lined up and waited as Nazi officers assigned their fate. Continue to the center of Kovno for a visit to the Kovno Chorale Synagogue, striking for its black and golden colors, as well as its Children's Memorial. Pass the house where the poet Leah Goldberg once lived. Later, drive to Vilnius (Vilna) to your hotel in the heart of the city. Dinner. Conti Hotel.
 
Day 07 Monday Vilnius (Vilna)
Breakfast.  A full day Jewish tour in Vilnius once known as the "Jerusalem of the North. Vilna is the town where Jewish scholars met, Yiddish theaters abounded, and Jewish life enriched Lithuanian history. Walk in the former Ghetto, which bears only scant  traces of its past Jewish influence. Visit the large and well-maintained Cemetery, where many of Vilna's famous personalities are buried, such as the Great Vilna Gaon (Sage) and many other brilliant Lithuanian rabbis and scholars. From here, visit the small and compelling Jewish Museum, which excellently documents the strength of cultural influence in Lithuania. Continue to the Great Vilna Synagogue to meet and enjoy an informative Lunch with members of the small Community. Next, drive to the “Cheap Houses," made to shelter the Jewish poor. Then, on to Ponar Forest, to pay respects at the awesome site, full of rustling poplar trees, where the Nazis murdered more than 70,000 Jews. Dinner. Conti Hotel.
 
Day 08 Tuesday Vilnius (Vilna)
Breakfast. A full day at leisure to browse colorful and pleasant Vilnius, or take an optional excursion to ancestral homes, villages, or other towns. Farewell Dinner. Conti Hotel.
 
Day 09 Wednesday Departure from Vilnius (Vilna)
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport.