But when I ask if she has visited the Old Synagogue in Canterbury, Kent, the answer invariably comes back: "No."

The Canterbury and Hobart buildings, both going back to the 1840s, are the only two surviving Egyptian Revival synagogues anywhere in the world.

Last week's Jewish Telegraph travel article on the Top Ten Shuls featured neither.

It did, however, include among other Jewish attractions in Europe, the Americas and India, Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool and its sister building (both were designed by the same architect) the New West End Synagogue, St Petersburgh Place in London.

Both have very recently become Grade I listed buildings (elevated from Grade II* by English Heritage) as the finest examples of the grand Victorian "cathedral synagogue" in the country.

Princes Road and St Petersburgh Place are among the Ten Top Shuls nominated for the UK leg of the European Route of Jewish Culture.

The route is being set up to link landmark sites in an international Jewish Heritage Trail as part of the Council of Europe's cultural programme Europe - A Common Heritage.

The other eight synagogues that make up the British minyan of must-see sites are:

Bevis Marks Synagogue, London, opened in 1701. A hidden gem in the city of London, Britain's oldest synagogue is more than 300 years old.

Its style was influenced by a mixture of Wren city churches and by the Esnoga, the Portuguese Great Synagogue of Amsterdam - the parent congregation of the English Sefardim.

The Montefiore Synagogue and Mausoleum, Ramsgate.

A Regency-style synagogue of 1833 designed by the first Anglo-Jewish architect David Mocatta, and the curious last resting place of Sir Moses and Lady Judith, modelled on Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem. The site of annual pilgrimages by charedim from London and Manchester.

Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton.

Opulent jewel in the crown of the South Coast's most elegant Regency resort. Opened in 1875 to serve the spiritual needs of holidaymaking Goldsmids, Rothschilds and Sassoons.

Plymouth Synagogue.

The oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in Britain and the oldest in the English-speaking world. It was built in 1762-3, making it a year older than nearby Exeter Synagogue (1763-4).

Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham.

The earliest still functioning "cathedral synagogue" in Britain, now more than 150 years old. Designed in 1855-6 by leading civic architect Henry Yeoville Thomason, who was responsible for Birmingham's Council House and Art Gallery, also in Italian Renaissance style.

Bradford Synagogue (Reform).

A little known "orientalist" gem in the heart of Yorkshire, designed in 1880-1 for a German Reform community that pre-dated the Orthodox in the city.

The building features exotic touches: Stripey brickwork, horseshoe arches and a decorative cornice, inspired by a mixture of Mamluk Egypt, Moorish Spain, North Africa and Mogul India.

Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow.

The "cathedral synagogue" of Scotland, located in the heart of the city around the corner from Charles Rennie Mackintosh's famous Glasgow School of Art.

Opened in 1881, and now home to the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre - a must for family history buffs with roots north of the border.

And, finally, Manchester Jewish Museum housed in the former Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of 1874, in Cheetham - once the hub of Manchester Jewish life.

It was built in Moorish style, appropriate for its Sephardi congregation.

The museum's permanent collection documents the history of Manchester Jewry, while the current special exhibition Hats Off to Cheetham Hill! is a handy guide to multi-cultural headgear.

All of these synagogues will be open to visitors on European Jewish Heritage Day -- Sunday, September 7 - and/or National Heritage Open Days on Sunday, September 14.

All are featured in full colour in Sharman Kadish Jewish Heritage in England: An Architectural Guide, published by English Heritage.