Group travel and shared discovery is a powerful way to both strengthen community and carry Jewish heritage into the future. Taube Jewish Heritage Tours designs group-specific tours, providing expert scholars and guides, program facilitators, and opportunities for service, as well as access to leaders and officials; ties are built and reinforced not just among those on the trip, but also between the local community and those who have come to discover the cradle of European Jewish history.
TJHT Standard Itinerary
This itinerary has been enjoyed by JCC and Jewish Federations.
Day One: Warsaw
Arrive at the International Warsaw Chopin Airport
- Participants with be met by Taube Jewish Heritage Tours Staff for transfer to hotel
Check into hotel & time to refresh and rest
Welcome and Orientation at JCC Warsaw
- Meet with young local Jewish leaders and activists
- Kosher dinner with remarks from JCC Warsaw’s Executive Director
Overnight in Warsaw
Day Two: Warsaw
Visit Plac Grzybowski, a square at the heart of Jewish life in Warsaw
- Visit the only surviving pre-war synagogue
- Meet with Chief Rabbi of Poland
Guided tour of Jewish Warsaw, past and present
- Tour the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery
- Visit the site of the Umschlagplatz, now a memorial
- Follow the Route of Memory & Martyrdom, including Mila 18
- Visit Nathan Rapoport’s Warsaw Ghetto Monument
Visit to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
- Welcome at POLIN Museum by the Director
- Lunch on your own at Besamim restaurant
- Special guided tour through the POLIN Museum’s Core Exhibition of the 1,000 year history of Jews in Poland
Dinner in Warsaw’s Old Town
Overnight in Warsaw
Day Three: Warsaw – Kraków
Briefing with the Polish Foreign Ministry Liaison to the Jewish Diaspora
Private guided visit at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute
- View selections from the Ringelbum Archives and the Institute’s vast Judaica and art collections
- A consultation with the research staff of the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center
Brief tour of Praga district
- Includes a visit to the Zabynski’s Villa in the Warsaw Zoo: the Zabynski family managed the Warsaw Zoo and hid Jews on zoo property during World War II at the risk of their own lives
Express train to Kraków with a light lunch on the train.
Welcome and Dinner at JCC Krakow
- Greetings from JCC Krakow Executive Director
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Krakow
Day Four: Kraków
Walking tour through Kraków’s Old Town, a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site
- See the ancient underground foundations of the city
- Wander through the centuries-old Main Market Square and Cloth Hall
- Visit Collegium Maius, the university where Copernicus studied
Lunch in the Old Town
Afternoon walking tour through Kazimierz, Kraków’s Jewish district
- Visit it’s seven surviving synagogues
- Walk through the hub of Kraków’s Jewish revival
- Tour through the site of the annual Jewish Culture Festival, the largest of its kind in the world
Visit the Galicia Jewish Museum
- Guided tour followed by conversation and refreshments with the museum director
Dinner on your own
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Kraków
Day Five: Auschwitz-Birkenau – Oświęcim – Kraków
Guided tour of Birkenau and the Auschwitz State Museum
Visit and session at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim
- Lunch with the Center’s Director
Return to the hotel for rest and reflection
Dinner on your own
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Kraków
Day Six: Chmielnik – Pińczów – Szydłów – Kraków
Day tour to the fomer shtetls of Chmielnik, Pińczów, and Szydłów
Lunch in Szydłów
Return to Kraków for Shabbat
Optional Progressive and Orthodox Traditional Shabbat services
Shabbat dinner organized by JCC Krakow for guests from Kraków and around the world
Overnight in Kraków
Day Seven: Kraków – Wieliczka
Free day, options include:
- Shabbat services
- Exploring Kazimierz and Kraków
- [During the Jewish Culture Festival: Enjoy the Festival program]
- Visiting MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art
- Visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines
- Organized visit to the site of the Kraków Ghetto, the Schindler Factory Museum, and the site of the Płaszów concentration camp
Closing dinner and session
Overnight in Kraków
Day Eight
Departures and Extensions
VIP Delegation to Poland
This tour program included participation in a Holocaust commemoration.
Day One: Warsaw
- Arrival to Warsaw; Transfer to hotel provided by Taube Jewish Heritage Tours
- Welcome and Orientation Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute with the Taube Center’s Director
- Hidden Treasures of the Jewish Past: Special Viewing of selections from the Ringelblum Archives, session with Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center, and tour of the current art exhibit with JHI’s Chief Archivist
- Friday night Shabbat Service at Nożyk Synagogue (Traditional Orthodox)
- Formal welcome on behalf of the Jewish Community: Gala Shabbat Dinner with invited community leaders and special guests
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Two: Warsaw
- Meeting with Never Again Association at Menora InfoPunkt, Taube Center’s meeting space for NGOs and culinary workshops, in a shared the space with the trendy Charlotte Cafe
- Guided tour of Warsaw’s Old Town, and its 15th century Jewish roots, followed by a stroll down the Royal Route, Pilsudski Square, and the Saxon Gardens with TJHT guide
- Shabbat lunch with religious and communal Jewish leaders
- Guided tour of the Umschlagplatz and through the Route of Struggle and Memory, including the Mila 18, and the Museum Plaza with your TJHT guide
- Private guided tour of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews with the Chief Curator
- Dinner with special guest: Polish documentary filmmaker
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Three: Jedwabne – Łómża – Warsaw
- Early morning breakfast at the hotel before depart for Jedwabne
- The 75th Jedwabne Memorial Ceremony, including prayers and reading names of victims, and a reading of a letter from the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda
- Lunch in Łomża
- Return to Warsaw
- Meeting with the Ambassador of Israel to Poland
- Dinner with correspondent for the Associated Press based in Warsaw
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Four: Warsaw – Kraków
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Meeting with Undersecretary of State, senior advisor to President Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace
- Meeting with United States Ambassador to Poland at the US Embassy
- Lunch
- Meeting with Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Train from Warsaw Central Station to Kraków, first class
- Transfer to hotel; Check in and refresh
- Dinner and meeting with the Executive Director of JCC Krakow and Executive Director of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture
Day Five: Auschwitz-Birkenau – Kraków
- Private guided visit of Auschwitz-Birkenau with Anna Sommer-Schneider, Adjunct Professor at the Program for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University in Washington, DC
- Return to Kraków
- Guided tour of Kazimierz, Kraków’s Jewish district with its remarkable seven remaining synagogues and the Galicia Jewish Museum
- Dinner at JCC Krakow with staff and representatives of Krakow’s Jewish community who will share their stories of Jewish revival in Kraków
Day Six: Kraków
- Breakfast and Closing Conversation at the hotel
- Guided tour of Krakow’s Old Town with its original Medieval street layout, marvelous architecture, and unique atmosphere that distinguishes Kraków from the rest of Poland
- Transfer to the airport/train station
Organization & Community Group Tours
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Group travel and shared discovery is a powerful way to both strengthen community and carry Jewish heritage into the future. Taube Jewish Heritage Tours designs group-specific tours, providing expert scholars and guides, program facilitators, and opportunities for service, as well as access to leaders and officials; ties are built and reinforced not just among those on the trip, but also between the local community and those who have come to discover the cradle of European Jewish history.
TJHT Standard Itinerary
This itinerary has been enjoyed by JCC and Jewish Federations.
Day One: Warsaw
Arrive at the International Warsaw Chopin Airport
- Participants with be met by Taube Jewish Heritage Tours Staff for transfer to hotel
Check into hotel & time to refresh and rest
Welcome and Orientation at JCC Warsaw
- Meet with young local Jewish leaders and activists
- Kosher dinner with remarks from JCC Warsaw’s Executive Director
Overnight in Warsaw
Day Two: Warsaw
Visit Plac Grzybowski, a square at the heart of Jewish life in Warsaw
- Visit the only surviving pre-war synagogue
- Meet with Chief Rabbi of Poland
Guided tour of Jewish Warsaw, past and present
- Tour the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery
- Visit the site of the Umschlagplatz, now a memorial
- Follow the Route of Memory & Martyrdom, including Mila 18
- Visit Nathan Rapoport’s Warsaw Ghetto Monument
Visit to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
- Welcome at POLIN Museum by the Director
- Lunch on your own at Besamim restaurant
- Special guided tour through the POLIN Museum’s Core Exhibition of the 1,000 year history of Jews in Poland
Dinner in Warsaw’s Old Town
Overnight in Warsaw
Day Three: Warsaw – Kraków
Briefing with the Polish Foreign Ministry Liaison to the Jewish Diaspora
Private guided visit at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute
- View selections from the Ringelbum Archives and the Institute’s vast Judaica and art collections
- A consultation with the research staff of the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center
Brief tour of Praga district
- Includes a visit to the Zabynski’s Villa in the Warsaw Zoo: the Zabynski family managed the Warsaw Zoo and hid Jews on zoo property during World War II at the risk of their own lives
Express train to Kraków with a light lunch on the train.
Welcome and Dinner at JCC Krakow
- Greetings from JCC Krakow Executive Director
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Krakow
Day Four: Kraków
Walking tour through Kraków’s Old Town, a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site
- See the ancient underground foundations of the city
- Wander through the centuries-old Main Market Square and Cloth Hall
- Visit Collegium Maius, the university where Copernicus studied
Lunch in the Old Town
Afternoon walking tour through Kazimierz, Kraków’s Jewish district
- Visit it’s seven surviving synagogues
- Walk through the hub of Kraków’s Jewish revival
- Tour through the site of the annual Jewish Culture Festival, the largest of its kind in the world
Visit the Galicia Jewish Museum
- Guided tour followed by conversation and refreshments with the museum director
Dinner on your own
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Kraków
Day Five: Auschwitz-Birkenau – Oświęcim – Kraków
Guided tour of Birkenau and the Auschwitz State Museum
Visit and session at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim
- Lunch with the Center’s Director
Return to the hotel for rest and reflection
Dinner on your own
[During Jewish Culture Festival: Evening festival concert at the Tempel Synagogue]
Overnight in Kraków
Day Six: Chmielnik – Pińczów – Szydłów – Kraków
Day tour to the fomer shtetls of Chmielnik, Pińczów, and Szydłów
Lunch in Szydłów
Return to Kraków for Shabbat
Optional Progressive and Orthodox Traditional Shabbat services
Shabbat dinner organized by JCC Krakow for guests from Kraków and around the world
Overnight in Kraków
Day Seven: Kraków – Wieliczka
Free day, options include:
- Shabbat services
- Exploring Kazimierz and Kraków
- [During the Jewish Culture Festival: Enjoy the Festival program]
- Visiting MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art
- Visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines
- Organized visit to the site of the Kraków Ghetto, the Schindler Factory Museum, and the site of the Płaszów concentration camp
Closing dinner and session
Overnight in Kraków
Day Eight
Departures and Extensions
VIP Delegation to Poland
This tour program included participation in a Holocaust commemoration.
Day One: Warsaw
- Arrival to Warsaw; Transfer to hotel provided by Taube Jewish Heritage Tours
- Welcome and Orientation Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute with the Taube Center’s Director
- Hidden Treasures of the Jewish Past: Special Viewing of selections from the Ringelblum Archives, session with Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center, and tour of the current art exhibit with JHI’s Chief Archivist
- Friday night Shabbat Service at Nożyk Synagogue (Traditional Orthodox)
- Formal welcome on behalf of the Jewish Community: Gala Shabbat Dinner with invited community leaders and special guests
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Two: Warsaw
- Meeting with Never Again Association at Menora InfoPunkt, Taube Center’s meeting space for NGOs and culinary workshops, in a shared the space with the trendy Charlotte Cafe
- Guided tour of Warsaw’s Old Town, and its 15th century Jewish roots, followed by a stroll down the Royal Route, Pilsudski Square, and the Saxon Gardens with TJHT guide
- Shabbat lunch with religious and communal Jewish leaders
- Guided tour of the Umschlagplatz and through the Route of Struggle and Memory, including the Mila 18, and the Museum Plaza with your TJHT guide
- Private guided tour of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews with the Chief Curator
- Dinner with special guest: Polish documentary filmmaker
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Three: Jedwabne – Łómża – Warsaw
- Early morning breakfast at the hotel before depart for Jedwabne
- The 75th Jedwabne Memorial Ceremony, including prayers and reading names of victims, and a reading of a letter from the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda
- Lunch in Łomża
- Return to Warsaw
- Meeting with the Ambassador of Israel to Poland
- Dinner with correspondent for the Associated Press based in Warsaw
- Overnight in Warsaw
Day Four: Warsaw – Kraków
- Breakfast in the hotel
- Meeting with Undersecretary of State, senior advisor to President Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace
- Meeting with United States Ambassador to Poland at the US Embassy
- Lunch
- Meeting with Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Train from Warsaw Central Station to Kraków, first class
- Transfer to hotel; Check in and refresh
- Dinner and meeting with the Executive Director of JCC Krakow and Executive Director of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture
Day Five: Auschwitz-Birkenau – Kraków
- Private guided visit of Auschwitz-Birkenau with Anna Sommer-Schneider, Adjunct Professor at the Program for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University in Washington, DC
- Return to Kraków
- Guided tour of Kazimierz, Kraków’s Jewish district with its remarkable seven remaining synagogues and the Galicia Jewish Museum
- Dinner at JCC Krakow with staff and representatives of Krakow’s Jewish community who will share their stories of Jewish revival in Kraków
Day Six: Kraków
- Breakfast and Closing Conversation at the hotel
- Guided tour of Krakow’s Old Town with its original Medieval street layout, marvelous architecture, and unique atmosphere that distinguishes Kraków from the rest of Poland
- Transfer to the airport/train station