Kingston Jewish Walking Tours
Jewish history hidden in plain sight in Canada’s first capital.
Kingston is one of Canada’s most historic cities. But beyond the familiar stories of limestone buildings, military history, prisons, politics, and Queen’s University, there is another story waiting to be told.
For more than a century, Jewish families have lived, worked, prayed, studied, built businesses, led institutions, supported the arts, shaped local commerce, and contributed to the life of this city.
These walking tours uncover that story.
Led by Yos Tarshish, a Jewish educator, community consultant, and Kingston resident since 2020, the tours bring together local history, world Jewish history, family stories, storefronts, synagogues, shtieblach, student life, antisemitism, civic contribution, and the surprising depth of Jewish life in the Limestone City.
Whether you are a local Kingstonian, a Jewish visitor from Toronto or Ottawa, a Queen’s alum, a history lover, or someone who simply wants to see the city differently, these tours will change the way you walk through Kingston.
Weekly Sunday Tours
Tours are offered weekly on Sunday mornings and early afternoons.
You can join one tour, book two back-to-back, or spend the full day exploring all three.
Sunday Schedule
9:45 - 11:00 AM
North of Princess / McBurney Park Neighbourhood
60 - 75 minutes
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Downtown Kingston
75 - 90 minutes
1:00 - 2:15 PM
Queen’s University
60 - 75 minutes
There is a 30-minute break between the Downtown and Queen’s University tours. Participants joining both are welcome to walk with Yos between locations, with a few bonus sites along the way.
Tour 1: North of Princess / McBurney Park Neighbourhood
Everyday Jewish life, family businesses, and the making of a community.
This neighbourhood tour explores the day-to-day life of Kingston’s early Jewish families. We’ll visit former homes, businesses, industrial sites, neighbourhood stores, and community landmarks while tracing how immigrant families established themselves in Canada and helped build Jewish life in Kingston.
Expect intimate stories of family life, hard work, entrepreneurship, neighbourhood connection, and the quiet foundations of a small but mighty Jewish community.
Length: 60-75 minutes
Start: Corner of Joseph Street and Montreal Street
End: Slush Puppie Place
Tour 2: Downtown Kingston
The flagship tour: Jewish commerce, migration, synagogue life, and civic impact.
This is the core Kingston Jewish history tour.
Downtown Kingston tells the story of how a small Jewish community established itself, built businesses, founded institutions, created places of worship, contributed to civic life, and became part of the fabric of the city.
Along the way, we’ll also explore the wider Jewish world that shaped this history: migration from Europe, the search for opportunity, the building of new lives in Canada, and the ways Jewish communities adapted while maintaining identity and tradition.
Length: 75-90 minutes
Start: Slush Puppie Place
End: Corner of Princess St and Clergy St
Tour 3: Queen’s University
Jewish student life, antisemitism, philanthropy, art, and campus memory.
Queen’s University has played a major role in Kingston’s Jewish story. This tour explores the Jewish presence on and around campus, from the first Hillel House in Canada to major Jewish philanthropic contributions, student life, antisemitism, public memory, and art.
It is a tour about belonging, exclusion, leadership, generosity, and the complicated ways institutions remember their past.
Length: 60-75 minutes
Start: 26 Barrie Street
End: “Time” sculpture (Breakwater Park)
Pricing
Single Tour
Adult: $32.99
Youth (14 and under), Students & Seniors: $24.99
Two-Tour Sunday Pass
Adult: $59.99
Youth (14 and under), Students & Seniors: $44.99
Full Sunday Three-Tour Pass
Adult: $84.99
Youth (14 and under), Students & Seniors: $64.99
Children should be accompanied by an adult.
Private group tours are available for groups of 10 or more.
Private Group Tours
Private tours are available for families, synagogue groups, schools, alumni groups, community organisations, conference groups, and visitors looking for a more personalised Kingston experience.
Private groups can book one tour, combine two routes, or arrange a custom experience drawing from all three.
Private tours are available for groups of 10 or more.
To enquire, please include:
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preferred date and time
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group size
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which tour or tours interest you
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any mobility/accessibility needs
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whether the group has a particular interest, such as Queen’s, local Jewish families, migration, synagogue history, or antisemitism and campus life