Jewish living communities: synagogues in use

The journey in one line

23 stops in Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, United States, Tunisia, Portugal, Curaçao, India, Turkey, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Argentina, Israel, Serbia, Poland and Lithuania so far. The first rung is 4 of them, and the list keeps growing.

This is a journey through buildings that are still in use. Every place on it has a congregation, a caretaker and a calendar. Some hold three hundred people on a Friday night and some hold nine. The list is deliberately wide. Ashkenazi Prague and Sephardi London sit beside Baghdadi Mumbai, Romaniote and Sephardi Istanbul, and the Kerala coast where Jews have lived for well over a thousand years. Jewish life did not happen in one place or in one language. A visit here is a visit to a working building, not an exhibit. Several of these synagogues also run museums, and where they do, the museum is part of the visit.

Most lists of Jewish heritage are lists of what was destroyed. This one is not. Each of these buildings came through something, and each is still open. The oldest, the Old-New Synagogue in Prague, has been in use since roughly 1270. The newest on the list opened in the twentieth century for communities rebuilding after the Shoah or returning openly to Judaism after centuries in hiding. Between them they cover most of the ways a Jewish community has managed to keep going.

Almost every place here closes on Saturdays and on Jewish holidays, and the holiday dates move each year. Fridays are often short. Many of these synagogues have security screening, and several ask for a passport or photo identification at the door. The smaller communities, in Kingston, Chania, Alexandria and Kochi, do not keep museum hours. Write ahead. Some of these places need a keyholder to open them.

Rungs

First steps: 4 stops
The journey: 12 stops
The long road: 23 stops

This list is open and keeps growing. Reaching a rung is not finishing a culture.

Where it goes

Preparing the map. The order below is the same information.

1Old-New Synagogue, Prague, Czech Republic
2Bevis Marks Synagogue, London, United Kingdom
3Dohány Street Synagogue, Budapest, Hungary
4Great Synagogue of Rome, Rome, Italy
5Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam, Netherlands
6Museum at Eldridge Street, New York, United States
7Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island, United States
8El Ghriba Synagogue, Djerba, Tunisia
9Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue, Porto, Portugal
10Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, Willemstad, Curaçao
11Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India
12Neve Shalom Synagogue, Istanbul, Turkey
13Great Synagogue of Florence, Florence, Italy
14Rykestrasse Synagogue, Berlin, Germany
15Paradesi Synagogue, Kochi, India
16Ohel Leah Synagogue, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
17The Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia
18Templo Libertad, Buenos Aires, Argentina
19Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
20Hurva Synagogue, Jerusalem, Israel
21Subotica Synagogue, Subotica, Serbia
22Nożyk Synagogue, Warsaw, Poland
23Choral Synagogue of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

23 stops, in order.

The stops, in order

What a visit means here. A recorded visit means being inside the synagogue, on a visitor tour or at a service. An exterior photograph does not count. Any private note of your own practice is separate and stays private.

1
Old-New Synagogue
Staronová synagoga
Prague, Czech Republic
Photo: Jerzy Strzelecki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsShows the gabled brick facade from the street, the way visitors first see it.
Built around 1270, this is the oldest synagogue in Europe still holding regular services. The Prague community has prayed here through seven centuries of expulsion, fire and occupation. The Jewish Museum in Prague runs visitor access, but the building belongs to the Prague Jewish community, which still uses it.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior on a museum ticket, outside service times.
Access
Open daily except Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Hours change by season and the museum publishes the closure dates each year. Heads are covered inside. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
2
Bevis Marks Synagogue
London, United Kingdom
Photo: John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe plain brick exterior in its courtyard off the street.
Opened in 1701 and never closed since, Bevis Marks is the oldest synagogue in Britain in continuous use. It was built by Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had come to London by way of Amsterdam. The benches, the candlelight and the Amsterdam-modelled plan are largely as they were.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visitor hours or at a service.
Access
Run by the S and P Sephardi Community. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays, and visitor hours are shorter than a museum's. Security checks at the gate. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
3
Dohány Street Synagogue
Dohány utcai zsinagóga
Budapest, Hungary
Photo: The original uploader was OsvátA at Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe twin onion domes and the Moorish revival front on Dohány Street.
Finished in 1859, the Great Synagogue on Dohány Street is the largest in Europe and the seat of Hungarian Neolog Judaism. The complex holds the Hungarian Jewish Museum, the Heroes Temple and a cemetery in the courtyard for people who died in the Budapest ghetto. It carries a European Heritage Label.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue, the museum and the memorial garden on a single ticket.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Entry is by timed ticket and usually with a guide. Shoulders and knees covered. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
4
Great Synagogue of Rome
Tempio Maggiore di Roma
Rome, Italy
Photo: Livioandronico2013, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe square dome above the Tiber, the building's signature from across the river.
Rome holds the oldest Jewish community in Europe, living here without a break since before the Common Era. The Great Synagogue opened in 1904 on the site of the ghetto, a few years after the ghetto walls came down. The Jewish Museum of Rome sits underneath it and runs the visits.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue and the Jewish Museum of Rome on a museum ticket.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Airport-style security at the entrance and photo identification is asked for. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
5
Portuguese Synagogue
Esnoga
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photo: Massimo Catarinella, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe brick block seen across its courtyard, as it is approached.
The Esnoga opened in 1675 and was for a century the largest synagogue in the world. Amsterdam's Portuguese Jews, descendants of families forced out of Iberia, built it and still worship in it. There is no electric light in the hall. Services are read by candle.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue hall and the surrounding courtyard buildings on a Jewish Cultural Quarter ticket.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter ticket. Winter services are candlelit and visits are limited then. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
6
Museum at Eldridge Street
New York, United States
Photo: Alexisrael, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Moorish revival front on Eldridge Street.
Built in 1887 by Jews from Eastern Europe, this was the first great synagogue put up by that wave of immigrants on the Lower East Side. The congregation shrank, the main sanctuary was shut for decades, and a twenty year restoration brought it back. The congregation still prays here.
What counts as a visit
The restored sanctuary and the museum galleries on a museum ticket.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. The sanctuary is closed to visitors during services. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
7
Touro Synagogue
Newport, Rhode Island, United States
Photo: Swampyank at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Georgian exterior set at an angle on its lot so the ark faces east.
Dedicated in 1763, Touro is the oldest synagogue building in the United States. Its congregation was founded by Spanish and Portuguese Jews who reached Newport by way of the Caribbean. George Washington's 1790 letter to this congregation, promising a government that gives bigotry no sanction, is read here every year.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior on a National Park Service tour, and the visitor centre next door.
Access
A National Historic Site operated with the congregation. Tour times are seasonal and the building closes on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionSeasonal
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
8
El Ghriba Synagogue
كنيس الغريبة
Djerba, Tunisia
Photo: Noomen9, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe main entrance, a plain exterior view rather than the prayer hall.
El Ghriba is the oldest synagogue in Africa and the centre of one of the last Jewish communities in the Arab world. Every year at Lag BaOmer a pilgrimage brings people back to Djerba from France, Israel and across the diaspora. The island was inscribed by UNESCO in 2023, with the synagogue among the named places.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue courtyard and prayer hall during published visiting hours.
Access
An active synagogue with a permanent security presence after past attacks. Check your government's current travel advice for southern Tunisia, and expect screening and restrictions during the Lag BaOmer pilgrimage. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionTravel advisory
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
9
Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue
Sinagoga Kadoorie Mekor Haim
Porto, Portugal
Photo: ComunidadeIsraelitaPorto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe synagogue front, uploaded by the community that runs it.
Porto's synagogue was finished in 1938, built largely for Portuguese families returning openly to Judaism after centuries as conversos. It is one of the largest synagogues in Iberia. The community that built it nearly disappeared and has grown again since the 1990s.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior on a community visit, and the Jewish museum in the same building.
Access
Run by the Jewish Community of Oporto. Visits are at set times and closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Identification is asked for at the door. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
10
Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue
Snoa
Willemstad, Curaçao
Photo: Dolly442, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe yellow exterior and courtyard gate in Willemstad.
The Snoa opened in 1732 and is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Americas. The congregation dates from 1651, founded by Sephardi families from Amsterdam. Sand covers the floor, a practice carried from the years when Jews in Iberia prayed in secret and muffled their footsteps.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue, the courtyard and the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum beside it.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. The museum and the synagogue share a ticket. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
11
Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue
Mumbai, India
Photo: Rangan Datta Wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe restored blue facade in Kala Ghoda.
Built in 1884 by Jacob Sassoon for Mumbai's Baghdadi Jewish community, Knesset Eliyahoo is known across the city simply as the blue synagogue. A long restoration finished in 2019. The Sassoon trusts still run it and a small community still prays in it.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visiting hours.
Access
Police are posted outside and visitors are asked for photo identification, a passport for foreign nationals. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
12
Neve Shalom Synagogue
Neve Şalom Sinagogu
Istanbul, Turkey
Photo: Flickr user Chadica, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe street front in Galata.
Neve Shalom opened in 1951 in Galata and is the largest synagogue in Istanbul, the centre of a community descended from Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 and taken in by the Ottoman Empire. It has been attacked three times and rebuilt each time. A small museum sits in the same building.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue and the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews in the same complex.
Access
Visits must be arranged in advance through the foundation and a passport scan is required. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionPermit required
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
13
Great Synagogue of Florence
Tempio maggiore israelitico di Firenze
Florence, Italy
Photo: דני, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia CommonsThe green dome above the garden wall.
Finished in 1882, the Florence synagogue was built in the confident decades after Italian emancipation, in a Moorish revival style with a green copper dome. German troops mined it in 1944 and the community defused most of the charges. A Jewish museum occupies the upper floors.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue hall and the Jewish museum above it, on one ticket.
Access
Run by the Jewish Community of Florence. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Security screening at the gate. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
14
Rykestrasse Synagogue
Synagoge Rykestraße
Berlin, Germany
Photo: Mazbln, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe courtyard entrance, which is how the building is reached.
Opened in 1904 and set back in a courtyard, Rykestrasse survived November 1938 because burning it would have set the tenements around it alight. It is the largest synagogue in Germany and one of very few pre-war buildings still in use. The Jewish Community of Berlin holds services here.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior at a service or on a community visit.
Access
An active synagogue, not a museum. Entry is through the Jewish Community of Berlin, with identification and screening. Closed on Saturdays to visitors. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionPermit required
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
15
Paradesi Synagogue
Kochi, India
Photo: This picture has been taken by Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe synagogue and its clock tower in Jew Town, Mattancherry.
Built in 1568 in Mattancherry, Paradesi is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth. Jews have lived on the Malabar coast for well over a thousand years. The floor is laid with hand painted Chinese tiles, no two alike, and the clock tower was added in the eighteenth century.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visiting hours.
Access
Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Photography inside is not allowed and shoes are removed. The resident community is now very small. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
16
Ohel Leah Synagogue
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Photo: 文子言木, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe restored exterior on Robinson Road.
Ohel Leah opened in 1902 on Robinson Road, paid for by the Sassoon family and named for their mother. It has served Hong Kong's Jewish community through the Japanese occupation and every change of government since. The building was restored in the 1990s and still holds daily services.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior at a service or on an arranged visit.
Access
An active synagogue inside a gated community campus. Visits are arranged in advance and identification is required. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionPermit required
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
17
The Great Synagogue
Sydney, Australia
Photo: J Bar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Elizabeth Street facade opposite Hyde Park.
Consecrated in 1878 on Elizabeth Street, the Great Synagogue is the mother congregation of Australian Jewry, tracing back to the first organised Jewish worship in the colony in the 1820s. The ceiling is painted with gold stars. A small museum of Australian Jewish history sits upstairs.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior and the AM Rosenblum Jewish Museum on a tour.
Access
Tours run on set weekday times. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Security screening at the door. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
18
Templo Libertad
Templo Libertad
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Photo: User:Barcex, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Libertad Street front.
Templo Libertad opened in 1897 and is the oldest synagogue in Argentina, home of the Congregación Israelita de la República Argentina. Argentina took in one of the largest Jewish migrations in the Americas, and this building is where that community first became public. A Jewish museum shares the site.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue and the Museo Judío de Buenos Aires in the same building.
Access
Visits are booked in advance and identification is required at the door. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflectionPermit required
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
19
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Photo: This picture has been taken by Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Greek revival portico on Hasell Street.
Founded in 1749 by Sephardi families who came through London and the Caribbean, KKBE is the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. Its 1841 Greek revival building is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the country. Reform Judaism in America began here in the 1820s.
What counts as a visit
The sanctuary on a congregation tour, and the historic graveyard on Coming Street when open.
Access
Tours run on published weekday hours. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
20
Hurva Synagogue
בית הכנסת החורבה
Jerusalem, Israel
Photo: Matt0962, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe rebuilt dome above the Jewish Quarter rooftops.
The Hurva was the tallest synagogue in the Old City before 1948, when it was destroyed in the fighting for the Jewish Quarter. For sixty years a single arch marked the empty square. The rebuilt synagogue opened in 2010 and returned the dome to the Old City skyline.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior and the upper gallery walkway on a visitor ticket.
Access
Run by the state company that rebuilt the Jewish Quarter. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Old City access can change at short notice. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
21
Subotica Synagogue
Szabadkai zsinagóga
Subotica, Serbia
Photo: Ванилица, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe restored Art Nouveau exterior.
Built in 1902, Subotica is the finest Hungarian Art Nouveau synagogue anywhere and one of very few of its kind left standing. The community that filled it was almost entirely murdered in 1944. A long restoration finished in 2018 and the building is used again for services and concerts.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visiting hours.
Access
Managed by a foundation with the Subotica Jewish community. Opening hours are seasonal and events can close the hall. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
22
Nożyk Synagogue
Synagoga im. Zalmana i Rywki Małżonków Nożyków
Warsaw, Poland
Photo: Rakoon, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe exterior in its courtyard off Twarda Street.
Nożyk opened in 1902 and is the only pre-war synagogue in Warsaw still standing. Warsaw had more than four hundred Jewish prayer houses before 1939. The Germans used this one as a stable. It was restored in the 1980s and is now the main synagogue of the Warsaw Jewish community.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visiting hours, outside services.
Access
An active community synagogue. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Heads covered inside. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026
23
Choral Synagogue of Vilnius
Vilniaus choralinė sinagoga
Vilnius, Lithuania
Photo: Kontis Šatūnas, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe street front on Pylimo Street.
Vilnius was called the Jerusalem of Lithuania and had more than a hundred synagogues and prayer houses. The Choral Synagogue, opened in 1903, is the only one that survived. It stands for a world of learning that was destroyed within three years, and it still holds services.
What counts as a visit
The synagogue interior during published visiting hours.
Access
Run by the Lithuanian Jewish Community. Closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Hours are short and seasonal. Checked 16 September 2026.
A place of reflection
Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

Respect and access

Men cover their heads inside. Shoulders and knees are covered. Some congregations seat men and women separately, and visitors follow the congregation's practice rather than their own. Do not photograph people at prayer, and do not photograph at all where a sign or a caretaker says not to. On the Sabbath and on holidays, cameras and phones are not used at many of these places even by visitors. Nobody here owes you an explanation of what they believe.

Permit required: Entry needs a permit, a booking or a ticket arranged in advance.
Travel advisory: A government advisory currently applies to this area. Read the current advisory before planning anything.
Seasonal: Access follows a season, a calendar or an event rather than being open year round.
A place of reflection: This is a memorial or a site of atrocity. Visitors are asked to be quiet, to follow the custodian's guidance on photography, and to treat it as somewhere people grieve.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

jewishmuseum.czhttps://www.jewishmuseum.cz/en/explore/sites/old-new-synagogue/ · checked September 16, 2026
sephardi.org.ukhttps://www.sephardi.org.uk/bevis-marks/ · checked September 16, 2026
culture.ec.europa.euhttps://culture.ec.europa.eu/cultural-heritage/initiatives-and-success-stories/european-heritage-label/european-heritage-label-sites/dohany-street-synagogue-complex-hungary · checked September 16, 2026
museoebraico.roma.ithttps://museoebraico.roma.it/en/ · checked September 16, 2026
jck.nlhttps://jck.nl/en/location/portuguese-synagogue · checked September 16, 2026
eldridgestreet.orghttps://www.eldridgestreet.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
nps.govhttps://www.nps.gov/tosy/index.htm · checked September 16, 2026
whc.unesco.orghttps://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1640/ · checked September 16, 2026
comunidade-israelita-porto.orghttps://comunidade-israelita-porto.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
snoa.comhttps://snoa.com/ · checked September 16, 2026
kenesetheliyahoo.comhttps://kenesetheliyahoo.com/ · checked September 16, 2026
nevesalom.orghttps://www.nevesalom.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
jewishflorence.ithttps://www.jewishflorence.it/ · checked September 16, 2026
jg-berlin.orghttps://www.jg-berlin.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
keralatourism.orghttps://www.keralatourism.org/destination/jewish-synagogue-mattancherry/407 · checked September 16, 2026
ohelleah.orghttps://ohelleah.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
greatsynagogue.org.auhttps://greatsynagogue.org.au/ · checked September 16, 2026
templolibertad.org.arhttps://templolibertad.org.ar/ · checked September 16, 2026
kkbe.orghttps://www.kkbe.org/ · checked September 16, 2026
quarter-events.co.ilhttps://www.quarter-events.co.il/en/the-hurva-synagogue · checked September 16, 2026
suboticasinagoga.rshttps://www.suboticasinagoga.rs/en/ · checked September 16, 2026
warszawa.jewish.org.plhttps://warszawa.jewish.org.pl/ · checked September 16, 2026
lzb.lthttps://www.lzb.lt/en/ · checked September 16, 2026

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.

If you keep a travel record with TravelDay, these places appear quietly in your passport. Open your passport

The journey in one line

Where it goes

The stops, in order

Old-New Synagogue

Bevis Marks Synagogue

Dohány Street Synagogue

Great Synagogue of Rome

Portuguese Synagogue

Museum at Eldridge Street

Touro Synagogue

El Ghriba Synagogue

Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue

Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue

Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue

Neve Shalom Synagogue

Great Synagogue of Florence

Rykestrasse Synagogue

Paradesi Synagogue

Ohel Leah Synagogue

The Great Synagogue

Templo Libertad

Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim

Hurva Synagogue

Subotica Synagogue

Nożyk Synagogue

Choral Synagogue of Vilnius

Respect and access

Sources