msalzbank

I am planning a trip to Europe late June/early July as a stop over to Israel. It will be the first time my teen boys will be in Europe (21/17).

I am thinking of spending about 8-9 days in either Italy (Rome, Venice, Padua, lake como -skipping Florence) OR London...
OR Spain or Greece

Would like sample itineraries,, with a strong emphasis on Jewish history,,, any help would be appreciated,,,

Wayne

Obviously, Rome comes to mind right away. But why not spend some time in Germany, where there is a pretty important element of Jewish history? And of course, the same goes for Poland. Good luck.

msalzbank

thank you,,, but I definately don't want to go running around crazy. I want to combine the pretty and the history,,, so Italy comes to mind as well Spain....

RufusTFirefly

Much of Germany is very pretty. Bavaria, Mosel River valley, picturesque towns, etc.

But, you can't go wrong with Italy, either. Don't miss Venice--the Ghetto and a Holocaust memorial.

ira

Hi ms,

For 8-9 days, I suggest 4 days in Venice and 5 in Rome, in that order.

MFNYC

What do the boys think?

MFNYC

Amsterdam is a greta place to visit for Jewish history. If you could do maybe 3 nights Amsterdam and the remainder in another city, that may work well. We did Paris/Amsterdam. London may work well with that.

cmeyer54

Almost anywhere you go in Europe will have some element of Jewish history. Amsterdam comes to mind with the Anne Frank house, we visited Munich and dachau with our boys as well as the Olympic village for more 'recent' history, Prague has a great area, Paris also had the Memorial de la deportation which was very moving... you'll find something in most every city and country.

NEDSIRELAND

You may have to dig a bit, but Jewish Culture thrived in Spain before the Inquisition (15th Century). You may want to visit the Synagogue in Toledo, formerly a thriving Jewish Community.

Many of the Jews were given the option of converting to Christianity or being exiled. I know many fled to Morocco and to places in the Middle East where, I am told, a Spanish-speaking Jewish Community still exists.

If you do decide to visit Spain, you and your sons need to do some homework.

Of course, if you are looking into more recent history (the Holocaust, for example) places that other posters have suggested might be more appropriate.

risab

Italy would be a wonderful stop over. Venice is an incredible place and the ghetto is very interesting with a rich Jewish history- and you could stay in Lido since it will be hot then. Or could concentrate on the north and do Lake Como, Verona or Padova, and then Venice.

While I truly love Italy one of my favorite places is Prague. It is beautiful and a wonderful place to spend a week and it is so rich in Jewish history. You could also visit Terezin. I had used Wittman Tours for the Terezin day tour and their tour of the Jewish quarter. My teenage daughter loved Prague and it remains one of her favorite places that she has visited. We made arrangement before our trip to go to Shabbat services with Beit Praha at the Spanish Synagogue. It was a wonderful experience to share the Sabbath with this community. You could also do four days in Prague and then take the train to Budapest and do four days there. It is another city with a rich Jewish heritage. We hope to go to Israel for our first trip next summer.