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OVERVIEW
In collaboration with Jewish Heritage Travel we are excited to offer this tour of London, Oxford & Cambridge.
Travel to London, Cambridge, and Oxford for a unique exploration of Jewish life in England, past and present. With expert guides sharing knowledge, stories, and insights, this exclusive tour is limited to 20 participants as it features guided, private visits to several limited-access sites along with other bespoke experiences.
Tour neighborhoods with rich Jewish histories. Explore one-of-a-kind museum collections that bring to light Jewish heritage and legacy. Visit stately homes and mansions, including Waddesdon Manor, built for Ferdinand de Rothschild, and Hughenden, the country estate of Benjamin Disraeli. Lectures and guided walking tours with accompanying scholar Rachel Kolsky are designed to enhance and deepen understanding along the way.
The Jewish community in England has long contributed to the cultural, economic, scientific, and political life of the country. While Jewish settlement in Britain can be traced back to the 11th century, it wasn’t until the establishment of a synagogue in London in 1657 that Jewish communities began to grow throughout the country, and beautiful synagogues, stately mansions, and thriving businesses were built. By 1858, the law of the land was changed to allow Jews to sit as members of Parliament. Hebrew books were printed in Oxford, and several extraordinary libraries of Judaica were gathered. Today, England contains the fifth-largest Jewish community worldwide.
Throughout this exceptional educational travel tour, accommodations at luxury hotels provide a deluxe and welcoming base for our explorations in these three historic cities. Space is limited. Please register early.
Departures
Duration
Highlights
Notes
Activity Level
Tailor Made
Itinerary
Program Cost: $8,450* includes:
Eight nights’ accommodations at deluxe hotels
Full breakfast daily; one lunch; four dinners
Entrance fees to all museums and sites on the itinerary
All group transportation via deluxe, air-conditioned coach
*Per-person, double occupancy; single supplement: $2,450. Fees not included: gratuities: $195. Museum membership for nonmembers.
Travel note: Plan to arrive in London on Sunday, July 27, 2025, and depart from London on Monday, August 4, 2025 later in the day.
All of our scholars are outstanding experts in their fields and play an active role in helping us design our journeys as well as accompanying us as we travel.
Rachel Kolsky is a prize-winning London Blue Badge Tourist Guide who focuses on the “human stories behind the buildings.” Author of Jewish London: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Visitors and Londoners, Rachel leads tours that are as fun as they are informative. She is also the author of Whitechapel in 50 Buildings, Secret Whitechapel, and Women’s London. Previously, Ms. Kolsky was an award-winning information professional in the financial-services industry for more than 25 years. She also supports her local independent cinema, The Phoenix, East Finchley, where she was a trustee for over 20 years.
Lucy Rapoport, trip leader, has guided and accompanied many previous Jewish heritage tours, all to great acclaim. Born and schooled in England before moving to Italy as a young adult, Lucy is fluent in Italian, German, French, and Spanish and has been a tour manager for over twenty years. Specializing in Europe, she has accompanied previous Jewish groups to such places as Lithuania, Krakow, Prague, Berlin, Croatia, Spain, Romania, Serbia, France, northern and southern Italy, and Sicily. With Lucy’s attention to detail, knowledge of history, and considerable expertise in guiding groups, participants will be well served on this trip.
Arrive and check in to the Goring hotel, one of London’s finest deluxe hotels.
Our first evening includes an Introductory lecture by our scholar Rachel Kolsky, followed by an orientation and an opportunity to get to know one another.
Afterwards, we are treated to an opening dinner in the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, The Dining Room, renowned for serving seasonal, ingredient-led and signature British dishes and led by Executive Chef Graham Squire.
Meals included: dinner
Accommodations: Goring Hotel
This morning features a guided tour of the renowned Victoria and Albert Museum (the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative arts and design) with a special focus on items of Jewish heritage.
After free time for lunch on your own, we take an exclusive walking tour of the Hampstead area of London with our scholar, who will paint a vivid picture of life there in the 1930s and bring to life the stories of its Jewish emigrés. The evening is free for dinner on your own.
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: Goring Hotel
Today, we leave London for a day trip to the seaside town of Ramsgate. In the 1830s, Sir Moses Montefiore, a financier, activist, and philanthropist of Italian Sephardic descent, bought an estate here and commissioned the construction of an elegant private synagogue. Rarely open to visitors, we have arranged for private access, including a visit to the nearby mausoleum, which contains the tombs of both Sir Moses and his wife Judith, and was modeled on Rachel’s Tomb on the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
Upon our return to London, the evening is free for dinner on your own.
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: Goring Hotel
We begin our day with a guided historical walking tour of London’s East End, once a thriving Jewish quarter and home to large numbers of Jewish émigrés in the 1870s and 1880s. We also visit the picturesque and historic Bevis Marks Synagogue. Opened in 1701, with a design influenced by the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, Bevis Marks is the oldest synagogue in the UK and has continuously held regular services for more than 320 years.
After lunch, we travel on to Cambridge for a 2-night stay at the University Arms Hotel, with dinner at the hotel.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodations: University Arms Hotel
This morning, we explore Cambridge on a walking tour with a Jewish twist, including a visit to one of Cambridge University’s colleges.
After free time for lunch on your own, we have an exclusive private visit to the Cambridge Genizah Collection, the world’s largest and most important single collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts — 193,000 manuscripts brought to Cambridge in the late 1800s from Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue with permission from the Jewish community of Egypt.
The evening features a lecture by our scholar Rachel Kolsky, followed by dinner on your own.
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: University Arms Hotel
We depart Cambridge this morning and travel to Hughenden Manor, remodeled as the country house of Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in 1862. Disraeli, who was born Jewish but converted to the Anglican Church, was proud of his Jewish heritage despite being seen as an outsider and denigrated as Jewish by other politicians and “upper-crust” English society. We tour the house and learn more about Disraeli’s life and his role in English history.
We then continue on to Oxford, where individual Jews began settling from the mid-18th century, with an organized Jewish congregation firmly established by 1841.
After check-in at our hotel, we enjoy a short introductory walking tour, followed by a Shabbat dinner with members of the local Jewish community.
Meals included: breakfast, dinner
Accommodations: The Store
This morning is free to rest and relax, attend services, and/or explore sites of personal interest in Oxford, with lunch on your own.
The afternoon offers an optional visit to the Ashmolean Museum, which opened in 1683, with a focus on its collection of objects related to Jewish heritage. The collection spans 4,000 years and 14 countries. The museum was Britain’s first public museum, as well as the world’s first university museum.
In the evening, we have a lecture by Rachel Kolsky, followed by dinner on your own.
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: The Store
We begin today with a short drive to Waddesdon Manor, built in the 1870s for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, a British banker, art collector and politician who was a member of the Rothschild family of bankers. The manor was built to display his unique art collection and entertain the “fashionable world” of England. Designed in the style of the French châteaux of the Loire Valley, the house contains one of the most rare and valuable collections in the world.
After free time for lunch on your own, we travel to Tring, where we visit the Natural History Museum’s site on the grounds of Lionel Walter Rothschild’s former home. An avid zoologist, Walter Rothschild brought exotic animals from the world over to Tring as well as bird eggs, butterflies, beetles, and thousands of specimens of mammals, reptiles, and fishes. His private collection, the largest natural history collection ever amassed by a private individual, is the basis of the present-day exhibit.
This evening, we enjoy a festive farewell dinner at our hotel.
Meals included: breakfast, dinner
Accommodations: The Store
Individual departures to the London airport by train or limo for flights home.
Meals included: breakfast
*Please Note: Daily schedule may be modified, subject to weather or unanticipated changes.
Payment Reserve your space with a nonrefundable deposit of $1,000 per person. Final balance is due 120 days prior to departure.
Membership Participation on these tours is a benefit for active members of JHT museum partners. During the registration process, you will be asked about your membership status with your affiliated museum. If you are not a current member, you will have a chance to activate your membership.
Participation Tour sizes are limited to 28 participants unless otherwise noted. Trips entail considerable walking including over uneven terrain. Participants need to be in good health, be able to keep up with the group, be able to experience group and cultural differences with grace. Please let us know if you have any physical conditions that may require special attention while on tour.
Cancellations All cancellations must be received by Gil Travel in writing. Cancellations received 120 days or more prior to departure: full refund less nonrefundable deposits, per person; 119–90 days prior to departure: 50% refund per person after nonrefundable deposits. 89–0 days before departure: no refund.
Trip Cancellation Insurance Gil Travel Travel strongly urges all participants to purchase travel insurance for coverage of losses necessitated by having to cancel due to illness or accident. For your convenience, we are providing a link to RoamRight, which many past participants have used. When purchasing insurance, please consider the plans carefully to familiarize yourself with what is covered. In this context, do take note that most insurance companies generally will waive exclusion for preexisting conditions only if your application is received by them within 14 days from the date of your program registration. If you have a preexisting medical condition and are interested in taking trip insurance, you should do so either with Roamright or through your own insurance agent within 14 days of registration.
Changes All rights are reserved by Gil Travel and Jewish Heritage Travel to make scholar substitutions and/or to modify the itinerary (including hotels) as needed. Every reasonable effort will be made to operate the program as planned; however, should unforeseen world events and conditions require the itinerary to be altered, Jewish Heritage Travel reserves the right to do so for the safety and best interest of the group. Any extra expenses incurred in this situation are the responsibility of the participant.
Disclaimer of Responsibility By registering for this program, participant specifically waives any and all claims of action against Gil Travel or the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Jewish Heritage Travel office and their respective staffs for damages, loss, injury, accident, or death incurred by any person in connection with this tour. Gil Travel, The Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Jewish Heritage Travel office and their respective staffs assume no responsibility or liability in connection with the service of any train, vessel, carriage, aircraft, or other conveyance that may be used wholly or in part in the performance of their duty to the passengers. Neither will Gil Travel, the Museum of Jewish Heritage or the Jewish Heritage Travel office or their staffs be responsible for any injury, death, loss, accident, delay, or irregularity through neglect or default of any company or person engaged in carrying out the purposes for which tickets, vouchers, or coupons are issued. No responsibility is accepted for losses or expenses due to sickness, viruses, weather, strikes, wars, and other causes. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable for any reason whatsoever to alter the itinerary or arrangements, including hotels or scholars, such alterations may be made without penalty. All rights reserved to require any participant to withdraw from the tour at his/her own expense when such an action is determined by the tour staff to be in the best interest of the participant’s health and safety and that of the group in general. Prices subject to change. Cost in effect at time of registration will be honored.
Are Kosher meals available?
While we do not offer Kosher food, we offer fish and/or vegetarian options at every meal included in the trip.
How many people will be on the trip?
On average about 24 people.
What is the age group?
55+
What is the makeup of the participants?
A good mix of singles and couples.
How fit do I need to be? How much walking is there?
You should be able to walk about two miles in a day, though not all at once. Please see the itinerary of the trip(s) you are interested in to get a sense of the schedule for each day. When there is free time, some choose to stay active, others to rest.
If you prefer more activity, many of the hotels we stay in have pools and fitness facilities, and some of our trips do offer the opportunity for more physical activity.
Are the trips accessible for people with canes, walkers, or wheelchairs?
People who use a cane to aid their walking have found our trips accessible. You still need to be able to walk about two miles in a day, though not all at once. Unfortunately, accessibility can be limited in the places we travel, making it too difficult for people in wheelchairs or walkers to participate in our trips.
Is the trip Shabbat Observant?
We normally have a Shabbat dinner together be it at a hotel or restaurant and sometimes at a synagogue. We do not have programming on Saturday other than perhaps a meeting with the scholar. In some destinations we offer walking tours on Saturday. You can refer to the itinerary of your chosen trip for specifics.
When does the program actually begin?
The Itinerary and Program Details section of the trip you are interested in will indicate when to plan to arrive and depart, as well as when the program begins and ends. Every trip includes a welcome session to get oriented and meet each other, the guides, and scholars and a farewell event to celebrate, reflect, and say good-bye to our fellow travelers.
Are airport transfers included?
Airport transfers are not included. Taxis, and often other transportation options, are available from all airports.
Are meals included?
The Itinerary of the trip you are interested in will indicate which meals are included on each day. For meals on your own, suggestions are available from the concierge at the hotels we are staying in. We encourage you to explore the diversity of local and international cuisines in the places we visit.
Are the trips only for Jewish people?
While the majority of our travelers are Jewish, our trips are for anyone interested in exploring the Jewish heritage of the destinations we take you to.
I’d like to explore my genealogy at one of the places you are going to. Is that possible?
Our trips are not designed for genealogical research. If you want to undertake genealogical work, it is necessary to do this on your own and would be best to plan for an extra few days before or after one of our trips.
How much free time will I have?
Please see the itinerary of the trip(s) you are interested in for information on when free time is scheduled for exploring on your own, resting in your room, engaging in conversation with new friends, etc.
Is there Wi-Fi everywhere?
While WiFi is available in most of the world, there are regions or locations where it is not as accessible. Most of the hotels we stay at offer free WiFi.
What Museum Memberships Qualify?
Museum of Jewish Heritage New York: $54
Holocaust Museum LA: $100
Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center – Nassau County: $54
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History: $54
*Membership # will need to be provided upon registration
Accommodation
The Goring, located in the heart of London within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, is renowned for its upscale furnishings and impeccable hospitality. The last family-owned luxury hotel in London, this fine hotel combines attention to detail with charm and subtle British eccentricity. The Goring is where Kate Middleton stayed the night before her wedding to Prince William.
The Store is an inviting 5-star luxury lifestyle hotel in the heart of Oxford providing unparalleled views over the iconic spires of the city from the rooftop bar and terrace. Home of the former Boswell Department Store, the completely refurbished hotel features period pieces and playful touches alongside rooms with plush velvet headboards, deeply comfortable king size beds, generous bathrooms, and bespoke artworks.
Situated overlooking the park known as Parker’s Piece, the comprehensively redesigned University Arms Hotel provides beauty, comfort, and easy access to all of the city’s amenities. Rooms feature an abundance of natural light, playful colors, a writing desk and armchair, and a range of contemporary amenities. The go-to choice for discerning travelers, The University Arms has been Cambridge’s leading luxury hotel since 1834.
*Star rating standards vary from country to country.
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