7 Holocaust Tours in Europe You Can’t Miss (2026)
The Holocaust was one of the darkest and most tragic events in human history, and, while tours of these sacred memorials and grounds are incredibly difficult, it is crucial that we visit and learn in order remember and honor the victims and survivors who lived this horrific history firsthand.
More than anywhere else in the world, Europe is home to numerous sites and museums which offer tours and educational experiences for those interested in learning more about the Holocaust.
I’ve spent more than 25 years studying the genocide of the Holocaust, teaching it and touring various sites throughout Europe connected to it. Some I would recommend that everyone see, and others you could probably skip.
In this blog post, I’ll lay out the top Holocaust tours in Europe that you should consider taking- especially if this is your first visit to a Holocaust site. These tours not only provide an opportunity to learn about the atrocities committed during the Holocaust, but also offer a chance to reflect on the importance of remembrance and the dangers of prejudice, hatred, and Holocaust denial.
They offer us a chance to live NEVER AGAIN.
Top Holocaust Museum Tours To Take in Europe
Holocaust memorials and museums have cropped up in just about every major city in Europe, offering a place for people to remember and learn from the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust.
While there are many, here are two of the most significant Holocaust Museum Tours to take during your time in Europe:
1. Anne Frank House Tour
⭐ Visited By 1.3 million people/year | ⏳ Time Needed: 1-1.5 Hours
The Anne Frank House, located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is one of the most-visited Holocaust memorial sites in the world. It is something you absolutely should not miss; I recommend it be on every single Amsterdam travel itinerary.
You’ll find yourself walking, creeping, and climbing through the words of Anne Frank herself as you step back in time. A Holocaust tour of the Anne Frank House is incredibly moving, in part because the Secret Annex was left, in most ways, just as it was back then.
When he opened the Anne Frank Huis, Otto Frank intentionally wanted the space of the Secret Annex to be bare. He removed all of the furniture, and he wanted the space to remain with integrity.
If you read Diary of a Young Girl prior to your trip, you’ll find that you see many of the things you read about in her diary.
Visitors to the Anne Frank House walk through her father’s warehouse and up into the offices and stockrooms held by his employees. You’ll climb stairs and find yourself face-to-face with the world-famous swinging bookshelf that hid the Frank family.
As you climb higher into the Secret Annex itself, photos pasted on the walls, growth charts on the wall depicting the heights of Anne and Margot, and preserved artifacts tell the story of one of the most famous teenage voices of the Holocaust.
Even after taking tours at the Anne Frank House countless times, I am still moved to visit each time I am in Amsterdam. Anne’s story is one that should be told over and over again, and a Holocaust tour here is well worth a visit.
⭐ Read everything you need to know about touring the Anne Frank House-including how to get tickets!
2. Jewish Museum Berlin
⭐ Visited By 700k people/year | ⏳ Time Needed: 2-3 Hours
The Jewish Museum Berlin is a world-famous museum and Holocaust memorial site that offers visitors the opportunity to explore the history of Jewish life in Germany, as well as the Holocaust and its aftermath.
The museum’s permanent exhibition explores the past and present pieces of Jewish Life in Germany. Visitors move through five chapters in history, exploring perspectives of Jewish culture and tradition. I love how unique questions like “What is the sound of Judaism?” come alive during a tour of this museum.
Finally, a large portion of the museum is dedicated to the Holocaust and the After 1945 section, where the focus is on how Jewish life has been repaired following the Holocaust.
An audioguide tour is a fantastic way to explore this enormous museum with an in-pocket guide. It will help educate you on the mass amounts of artifacts, manuscripts, and personal testimonies that the museum has on display.
The Jewish Museum Berlin is a powerful and thought-provoking museum- a must-visit for any history buff.
Most Worthwhile Concentration Camp Tours
It goes without saying that some of the most gruesome and moving sites connected to the history of the Holocaust are the grounds of concentration camps.
Many former concentration camps have been preserved and turned into Holocaust memorial sites and museums; they now offer tours and educational workshops to help spread the mission and message of “Never Again.”
Here are a few of the most worthwhile Concentration Camp Holocaust Tours:
3. Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Holocaust Memorial and Museum Tour
⭐ RATING 5 Out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Duration: 1 Hour | ✈️ BOOK NOW!
If there is one place you tour that is connected to the Holocaust, let it be the grounds of Auschwitz.
Though it will be a tenuous and upsetting visit, it is easily the most moving Holocaust tour you will ever take. If you are visiting Poland and spending any time in the city of Krakow at all, a tour to Auschwitz should be on your itinerary.
There is something so important about walking the grounds in Poland that no one can describe to you- You must feel it for yourself. Even after touring it multiple times, I still find myself with goosebumps and chills, learning something new each time I set foot there.
A tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp picks you up in the city of Krakow. During the 1.5-hour ride to Oświęcim, learn about some of the history of the Holocaust through a moving documentary meant to give you context for your visit to this enormous concentration camp complex.
Once there, a guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau will take you through the grounds of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau as a guide shares poignant pieces of stories of those who were imprisoned and murdered at this extermination camp.
During this Holocaust tour, you’ll see sights worse than anything you could have imagined. You’ll walk past many barracks with bunks, see artifacts left behind by prisoners, walk through a gas chamber, and see ovens that were used to cremate the remains of the Jews and other victims of the Holocaust.
But you’ll learn an inordinate amount and have experienced firsthand how critical it is that we learn from history by being there ourselves.
⭐ Check Availability For the Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour (Which Includes Transportation) that I Take Whenever I’m in Krakow!
4. Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site Tour
⭐ RATING 5 Out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Duration: 1 Hour | ✈️ BOOK NOW!
There are some tours that will stick with you forever…and a tour of Dachau Concentration Camp with Alun Evans of Evansguide is one of those tours.
Dachau was the first concentration camp; it was meant to be the model for all others. Because of this, the grounds have been impeccably preserved as a memorial and museum.
On a Holocaust tour of Dachau, you’ll learn about the way SS soldiers were housed and worked nearby, how commandants were trained here, and how political prisoners, mainly, were grossly mistreated.
Dachau, as far as we know, was never used as an extermination camp the way Auschwitz or Buchenwald was. Nonetheless, the grounds are hallowed, still, and haunted.
You’ll walk down a tree-lined lane, wondering how on earth the barracks stretched that far into the distance. You’ll meander along the perimeter of barbed wire just before stumbling upon a clearing with a shower room, a gas chamber, and a crematorium.
At Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial, you’ll witness the religious monuments set up in honor of the victims who perished here. And you’ll learn an immense amount in a very detailed museum about what life was like in Dachau and the surrounding area.
No matter how many times I’ve learned at Dachau, I keep coming back to tour it with Alun. He is extensively knowledgeable, yet he is also approachable and engaging.
Touring Dachau will put Germany’s history on full display, creating a learning experience you won’t soon forget.
⭐ Check Rates & Dates for Alun Evan’s Guided Tour of Dachau
5. Terezin Concentration Camp Holocaust Tour
⭐ RATING 5 Out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Duration: 5 Hours | ✈️ BOOK NOW!
Terezin, also known as Theresienstadt, was a former military fortress located in the Czech Republic that was used by the Nazis during World War II. What makes Terezin significant, though, is that it was primarily utilized by the Nazis as a piece in their propaganda machine.
On this tour, you’ll learn all about the manipulative “beautification projects” that were completed in attempts to fool the Red Cross and the general public about living conditions at Terezin. At times, Terezin was even touted as a “spa town” (there’s literally a swimming pool).
On a tour, you’ll spend most of your time in the small Fortress, where you’ll see a former prison used by the Nazis, cramped cells, and even punishment rooms. There are also bathrooms, showers, and even medical rooms that show very clearly what life was like for prisoners.
Another reason this former concentration camp made this list of the top Holocaust tours in Europe for me is that Terezin held a significant number of children. These children were permitted to write, create artwork, and design poetry.
A number of the artifacts from the children of Terezin survived. Seeing these works of art and hearing the stories of the children who lived within the fortress walls is something that makes Terezin stand apart from other locations associated with the Holocaust in Europe.
When you’re finished, your guided tour will end at The National Cemetery, where you can pay your respects to those who perished in the walls of this fortress before heading back to Prague.
⭐ Check Availability for this Exclusive Private Tour of Terezin!
Best Holocaust History Walking Tours in Europe
Historical walking tours connected to the Holocaust are some of the most enriching learning experiences I’ve been a part of.
It is difficult to describe what it’s like seeing firsthand the sites and locations where some of the most poignant events in history occurred. History comes to life as you walk along city streets, taking in what life must have been like as you hear stories from knowledgeable guides.
Here are the Holocaust walking tours you can’t afford to miss:
6. Munich Third Reich Walking Tour
⭐ RATING 4.5 Out of 5 Stars (2000+ Reviews!) | ⏳ Time Needed: 2.5 Hours | ✈️ BOOK NOW!
The rise and fall of the Third Reich happened largely in Munich. As such, you’ll find many sites within this city are connected to the history of World War II and the Holocaust.
The Munich Third Reich Walking Tour takes visitors on a journey through Munich’s tumultuous past during the years of Nazi rule. You’ll experience up close pieces of Munich’s dark history and explore the city’s connections with the Third Reich and its most notorious figure, Adolf Hitler.
You’ll begin your tour with a visit to the Konigsplatz and the Odeonsplatz, both places within the Old Town of Munich that were used by the Nazi Party for things like book burnings and marches
You’ll hear about how the Third Reich became a propaganda machine and even see where the infamous Beer Hall Putsch took place.
A spot you can’t miss, and one of my favorite places in all of Munich, is next on your walking tour: Hofbräuhaus, a famous beer hall where the Nazi Party held many of its rallies. You’ll pass by the Old Town Hall of Munich and end your tour back in the city center at Marienplatz.
By walking in the footsteps of history, you’ll gain deeper insight into the rise of the Nazi regime and how it impacted Munich, shaping the events and culture of Germany before and during World War II.
7. Kazimierz: A Walking Tour of Krakow’s Jewish Quarter
⭐ RATING 5 Out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Time Needed: 3 Hours | ✈️ BOOK NOW!
Krakow, and Kazimierz in particular, was the center of Jewish life in Poland prior to World War II and the Holocaust. However, it fell into disrepair and quickly became a less-than-safe part of town following the war.
Now, however, Kazimierz is back- having transformed into the burgeoning cultural and foodie scene that it is today, a beautiful Hallmark of Jewish life in Poland once again.
A walking tour around the Jewish district of Kazimierz is easily one of the best Holocaust tour experiences in Europe. You’ll visit landmarks central to Jewish history like the Old Synagogue, Ghetto Heroe’s Square, and even Oskar Schindler’s famous enamelware factory, best portrayed in the film, Schindler’s List.
Kazimierz has plenty of other significant sites to see, such as the location of the original Krakow Ghetto. Finally, you’ll spend some time at the Eagle Pharmacy (a Museum of Krakow) which pays respect and honor to Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a local pharmacist from Kazimierz who rescued Jews during the Holocaust.
See the beauty and culture that Jewish life and this stunning neighborhood brings to Krakow through this unique walking tour.
Final Thoughts: Most Worthwhile Holocaust Tours in Europe
Taking a tour of a Holocaust site in Europe is not for the faint of heart.
It is a moving and heavy day with tours, information, and sites that will linger in your consciousness long after the day is done.
But, as a Holocaust educator, I cannot overstate just how important it is to learn from this history. Taking a Holocaust tour in Europe will put you in the footsteps of those who came before you.
You’ll have the chance to learn and pay your respects, helping a new generation grow up and
gain a greater understanding of this pivotal moment in human history and the dangers of genocide and human nature.
