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19th Century Jewish Paris
During the 19th century, Jews were extremely active in many spheres of French society. Rachel and Sarah Bernhardt are two Jewish women who became famous acting at the Comedie Francaise in Paris. Bernhardt eventually directed plays at her own theater and was given the title "Divine Sarah" by Victor Hugo. Leading up to the Dreyfus case, French Jews enjoyed equality in exchange for an astounding degree of assimilation. Rabbis began dressing like priests, organs were put in synagogues. It was even proposed that the Sabbath be moved from Saturday to Sunday.
It has been France's fate to be better known for its anti-Semitism than its Semitism. Such national disgraces as the persecution of Captain Alfred Dreyfus and the deportation of a fourth of French Jewry to Nazi death camps are, and should be, well remembered. Jews became involved in politics; for example, Achille Fould and Isaac Cremiuex served in the Chamber of Deputies. Jews also excelled in the financial sphere, two leading families were the Rothschild and the Pereire families. In the field of literature and philosophy, well-known Jews included Emile Durkheim, Marcel Proust and Salomon Munk.
Synagogues
At Arc de Triomphe is the rue Copernic Synagogue, which houses the largest non-Orthodox congregation. The synagogue was the target of anti-Semitic attacks in 1980, killing 4 people. Built in 1906, the synagogue contains plaques for those who died in World War I and the 1980 bomb attack.
The Art Nouveau synagogue, Agoudas Hakehilos, located on rue Pavee 10, is one of the most interesting buildings of the district, the Art Nouveau synagogue. Built in 1913 for Russian and Rumanian immigrants, the synagogue was designed by Hector Guimard, who is most famous for his designs used for Paris's metro system.
Another beautiful synagogue is located near the Eiffel Tower on rue Chasseloup-Laubat 14. Completed in 1913, the synagogue has a yellow-stone facade. It is attended by both North African Sephardim and Russian and German Ashkenazim
Rue des Tournelles synagogue. Built in 1870, the synagogue originally catered to an Ashkenazi population, however, after the influx of North African in the 1950's and 60's, it became Sephardic.
Another beautiful synagogue is located near the Eiffel Tower on rue Chasseloup-Laubat 14. Completed in 1913, the synagogue has a yellow-stone facade. It is attended by both North African Sephardim and Russian and German Ashkenazim
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Jewish Paris Tours
Did you know that Jewish communities existed in Paris since the 1st century? Or that the French Revolution granted Jews religious and occupational freedom for the first time in France's history? Join us as we discover where the roots of Judaism took hold, explore the ancient Marais district, once the home to France's largest Jewish community and visit some of Europe's most beautiful synagogues.
No Tours on Shabbat.
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Half Day Highlights
The Marais, filled with magnificent historical buildings, charming streets and bustling kosher restaurants, boulangeries and charcuteries, has served as Paris's primary Jewish neighborhood since the 13th century. While still maintaining that old world charm, it is also the home to upscale art galleries, fashion houses and chic boutiques. So come along with us for a 2, 3 or 4 hour private guided tour as we explore France's Jewish history from its roots to modern times.
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Jewish Highlight Walking Tour
Duration : 2 hours:
Cost : 195€ per group
Description: Jewish area: Rue des Rosirs, Rue Fredinand Duval and surrounding, visit to the different jewish shops, bookshops, delicatessen, bakeries, etc-and if time a visit to one synagogue.
Duration : 3 hours:
Cost : 295€ per group
Description: Rue des Rosiers, and surroundings- Ferdinand Duval- etc , visit of synagogue Fleichman and an oratory, jewish shops, bakeries and delicatessen, the old surrounding wall where the jews once lived, visit of the 17 th century area, visit to the little Zedjner memorial-rue Engherard, rue Saint-Paul, visit of the marais area and Place des Vosges, if time : visit the chief synagoge des Tournelles
Duration :4 hours:
Cost : 395€ per group
Description: The above plus - Synagogue Guimard , rue Pavée ,rue 'François Miron', Memorial of the shoah and center of jewish archives, of the wall of the rightous and the wall of the 77000 names, visit of the crypt.
Price per group from 1 to 8
Please note there are no scheduled group tours available.
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Full Day Tour
From the steps of the Notre Dame Cathedral to the 17th century Place des Vosges, from the Theater de la Ville de Paris to the Marais, Paris is filled with Jewish history, even where you least expect it! So join us for a full day private tour as we walk through cobblestoned streets and explore centuries old synagogues, museums, homes that once belonged to famous Jewish artists, quaint Judaica shops and more.
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You will discover the Place de l’Ile de France where a small gate on the right side of the square leads to the Memorial to the Unknown Deportee, and the French words above the door speak volumes - “Forgive, but do not forget!”
Close by was the spot in 1240, of the infamous trial of the Talmud where cartloads of Jewish books were burned in 1242. You'll pass the Memorial to the Unknown Jewish Martyr where you will see a large bronze cylinder with the names of death camps inscribed on it.
We then walk toward the heart of the Jewish quarter rue des Rosiers and its narrow streets and alleys. Here you will find numerous Jewish shops and restaurants. Jews have lived here since the middle ages. In the thirteenth century it was known as La Juiverie (the Jewry) with its own synagogues, cemeteries, and food manufacturers. Some of the street names from that earlier period survive, as we shall see. In 1394 Jews were expelled for a final time they did not return officially to Paris for nearly four hundred years.
We'll visit Agudath Hakehilot, an orthodox synagogue designed by Art Nouveau King Phillipe le Bel burned Jonathan at the stake Hector Guimard, the Art Nouveau architect and decorator famous for the archways he made for the Paris metro. Guimard’s wife, an American, was Jewish and with the rise of Nazism they left France for the United States. On Yom Kippur 1940 it was dynamited by the Germans, but has since been restored and is now a national monument.
Nearby is the old rue des Juifs. In the rear of the courtyard of number 20, is a sixteenth century Hotel Particulier known as the Hotel des Juifs. Now owned by an artist, it is a remnant of a Jewish community of the eighteenth century composed of Jews from Alsace, Lorraine, and Germany.
A few-minutes walk and well visit the Place de Vosges, the most famous Parisian square, where the actress Rachel lived in apartment house nine. Victor Hugo lived at apartment number six and a modest second-floor synagogue can be found at apartment number 14. We return via rue des Rosiers to rue des Hospitalieres St. Gervais. Here, at number six is a Jewish boys school. The plaque on the wall commemorates the 165 students who were sent to the internment camp at Drancy and then to Auschwitz where they were murdered.
Faubourg- Montmartre: Another Parisian quarter with many Jewish sites of interest is the Faubourg- Montmartre district. Within the district there are many synagogues, kosher restaurants and offices of various Jewish organizations. In the neighborhood’s center is the synagogue located on rue Buffault 28-30. The synagogue, opened in 1877, was the first synagogue in Paris to become Sephardic, adopting Portuguese rite in 1906. Next to the synagogue is a memorial plaque dedicated to the 12,000 Jewish Parisian children deported to Auschwitz.
Theatre de la Ville de Paris, once the Theatre de Sarah Bernhardt. On the second floor of the theater is a room with her belongings, as well as memorabilia. Nearby is the Place de la Theatre Francaise, where Rachel made her debut in 1838.
The homes of former affluent Jewish can be found on Rue de Faubourg St-Honore, including the former homes of the Rothschild (Nos. 33 and 35) and the Pereires (Nos. 41 and 49), which are now embassies and ambassadors’ residences.
A second well-known synagogue in the district, is the Temple Victoire, located on rue de la Victoire 44; it is also known as the Rothschild synagogue. Opened in 1874, the synagogue has special seats located on the bimah for the chief rabbis of Paris and France. The rabbis leading the service still wear Napoleanic -era costumes.
We'll end with the small Jewish art museum in Montmartre, the museum houses an important collection of French Jewish art, especially from the so-called Paris Jewish School immigrant artists who lived and worked in Montparnasse from 1915 to 1930, including the painter Marc Chagall and the sculpture Jacques Lipchitz.
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