Solve riddles from the Blue Mosque and Topkapı Palace across the Galata Bridge to the Galata Tower, and hear the stories of a city on two continents, all on your phone and without a guide. 4.7 · 39 reviews✓ Instant access✓ Start any time✓ No guide needed
New for Istanbul: six interactive city guides to food, sights, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. See the guides →
Scavenger hunt 4.7 (39)
Best for first-timers, couples and families: solve a riddle at every stop, then unlock the stories of sultans, emperors and old Constantinople.
5 € - 11 €See details and book →
Outdoor escape game
For puzzle lovers, friends and team building: crack an independent puzzle hidden at every attraction, with up to three hints whenever you get stuck.
5 € - 11 €See details and book →
Self-guided audio tour
For a relaxed walk without puzzles: listen to stories at each stop as you cross from the old city to Galata at your own pace.
4 € - 9 €See details and book →
The Istanbul scavenger hunt starts at the Obelisk of Theodosius on Sultanahmet Square, the old Hippodrome, and leads to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. After the Basilica Cistern you pass the Vilayet Mosque and the Tomb of Abdul Hamid I, walk down to the New Mosque in Eminönü, cross the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn and finish at the Galata Tower.
The route covers about 5.8 km, roughly 60 minutes of walking. You can start anywhere or change the order in the app, with Google Maps guiding you. No entry tickets are needed: every riddle uses building exteriors.
Istanbul spans Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus and was capital of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empire for more than fifteen centuries. You see it in a single walk: Hagia Sophia was completed in 537, the Blue Mosque with its six minarets in the early 17th century, the obelisk on the Hippodrome was made for Pharaoh Thutmose III, and the Genoese built the Galata Tower in the 14th century.
A game makes you look closely at inscriptions, fountains and details you would miss in the crowds, and the stories explain what you just saw. Everyone plays on their own phone, with no schedule and time for tea or a simit.
The Istanbul scavenger hunt takes about 3 hours, with about 60 minutes (5.8 km) of actual walking; the rest is solving riddles and listening to stories. You can pause at any time and continue later or on another day.
It starts on Sultanahmet Square in the old city and finishes at the Galata Tower on the other side of the Golden Horn. In the app you can choose a different starting stop or change the order.
No, you need neither a guide nor a time slot. After booking you receive a reference by email; download the World City Trail app, enter it and start whenever you like.
Yes, the Istanbul scavenger hunt works well for families. The riddles need observation and logic, not prior knowledge, so children can join in with an accompanying adult. The route is not suitable for wheelchairs and is difficult with strollers.
You can play the Istanbul scavenger hunt in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish or Dutch. Audio narration is also available for the stories.
Yes. Buy one ticket per player and form teams of up to 5 people; larger groups split into several teams. For team building, the outdoor escape game with its independent puzzles is a great fit.
Book the Istanbul scavenger hunt now and spend three hours solving riddles between Hagia Sophia, Ottoman mosques and the Golden Horn, starting whenever you like.
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