Aachen scavenger hunt
Aachen Cathedral is a stunning architectural marvel and UNESCO World Heritage site where Charlemagne was buried and thirty-one German kings were crowned over the span of six centuries.
A favorite among children and adults alike, the delightful Puppenbrunnen, Aachen - Bonifatius Stirnberg features whimsical, interactive bronze figures with movable joints that playfully represent the history, culture, and traditional characters of Aachen.
The Aachen Town Hall is a majestic Gothic building constructed on the foundations of Charlemagne’s palace, standing as a grand symbol of civic history that overlooks the historic Katschhof square.
Known as the "Circulation of Money" fountain, the fascinating "Kreislauf des Geldes" Brunnen features whimsical bronze figures moving around a basin of warm thermal water to symbolize greed, power, and the endless flow of wealth.
Housed in a beautifully restored 1660s townhouse, the fascinating Couven-Museum showcases middle-class furnishings and decor from the 18th and early 19th centuries, offering a wonderful look into historic domestic life.
Aachen scavenger hunt
Aachen Cathedral is a stunning architectural marvel and UNESCO World Heritage site where Charlemagne was buried and thirty-one German kings were crowned over the span of six centuries.
A favorite among children and adults alike, the delightful Puppenbrunnen, Aachen - Bonifatius Stirnberg features whimsical, interactive bronze figures with movable joints that playfully represent the history, culture, and traditional characters of Aachen.
The Aachen Town Hall is a majestic Gothic building constructed on the foundations of Charlemagne’s palace, standing as a grand symbol of civic history that overlooks the historic Katschhof square.
Known as the "Circulation of Money" fountain, the fascinating "Kreislauf des Geldes" Brunnen features whimsical bronze figures moving around a basin of warm thermal water to symbolize greed, power, and the endless flow of wealth.
Housed in a beautifully restored 1660s townhouse, the fascinating Couven-Museum showcases middle-class furnishings and decor from the 18th and early 19th centuries, offering a wonderful look into historic domestic life.

Aachen Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

Rated 4.77 out of 5 based on 53 customer ratings
(53 customer reviews)

4.25 out of 5 from 4 verified bookings

Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
Buy your ticket, download the app, and start instantly.

5 € - 11 €

1 ticket = 1 person

  • Buy 1 ticket
    11 €
  • Buy 2 tickets and save 36%
    11 €
    7 €
  • Buy 3 tickets and save 45%
    11 €
    6 €
  • Buy 4+ tickets and save 55%
    11 €
    5 €

Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Aachen on your phone: hand-picked places, each with why to go, what to order and a practical tip.

  • Tick places off
  • Your own notes
  • One tap to Maps
  • Open now, near me
  • Works offline
  • Print it or save as PDF
See the guides, a short video and all the details →
- +
Total:
Each:

See players in action on Instagram

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved by thousands of travelers and locals

  • No time limit – use your ticket whenever you want
  • Secure checkout - Instant confirmation

Included: your personal Trail Map with every city you finish, the kilometres you walk and your flag collection. See an example →

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Everything you need for a flexible self-guided city experience

Explore the city at your own pace

✔ Discover hidden gems & highlights
✔ Enjoy a flexible self-guided experience
✔ Explore freely with no schedule
✔ Perfect for couples, students, companies, friends & families

How your city experience works

✔ Instant ticket purchase
✔ Easy access via the World City Trail app
✔ Quick setup with your booking details
✔ Start anytime and explore freely
✔ Pause and resume anytime

Why travelers choose this tour

✔ Instant access after purchase
✔ Optional AI voice narration — listen instead of read
✔ Discover top attractions & food spots
✔ Customize your route anytime

Charlemagne's city as a game of 10 riddles

The Aachen scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. From the Ponttor to the Elisenbrunnen the route covers just 2 km, about 24 minutes on foot across 10 stops, which leaves most of the roughly 2 hours for riddles, Charlemagne's stories and a coffee in the old town.

Highlights include the medieval Ponttor, the Gothic City Hall on the market square, the Centre Charlemagne, the movable figures of the Puppenbrunnen, Charlemagne's cathedral and the warm sulphur springs of the Elisenbrunnen. The old town is compact, so the walk is short and you have plenty of time to look closely.

  • Durationabout 2 hours
  • Walkingabout 24 min · 2 km
  • Stops10
  • LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch

From a medieval city gate to a sulphur spring

Riddles in bronze and stone

Each stop asks a question that the place itself answers: the double gate of the Ponttor, the jointed figures of the Puppenbrunnen, the faces in the ring of the Kreislauf des Geldes. You need sharp eyes rather than any German, and nobody expects you to know who Couven was.

Kings, pigeons and a thief with a hen

A solved riddle unlocks the story behind it: some 30 German kings crowned in Charlemagne's chapel between 936 and 1531, the carrier pigeons Paul Julius Reuter sent out from Aachen in 1850, the bronze Hühnerdieb running off with a hen on the Hühnermarkt. Switch on the audio narration and the kings, pigeons and hen thief are told to you between stops.

2 km through a compact old town

Only about 24 minutes of the game is walking: down Pontstraße from the city gate to the market square, round City Hall and the Katschhof, then through the lanes by the cathedral to the Elisenbrunnen. Google Maps steers you along each stretch, so no paper map of the old town is needed.

Printen, coffee and no clock

Nothing is timed, so stop for coffee in the Pont quarter or for a bag of Aachener Printen, the city's spiced gingerbread, and pick the game up later or on another day. Staying near the cathedral? Start there rather than at the Ponttor.

See the route and attractions →

How it works

  1. Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
  2. Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
  3. Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.

For border hoppers, families and university groups

Over the border for a day

Aachen lies where Germany meets the Netherlands and Belgium, and the game fits a day trip or the hours before a train. In about 2 hours you see the gate, City Hall, the cathedral and the spa pavilion without planning a route yourself.

Families with curious children

Children may move the arms and heads of the Puppenbrunnen figures, track down the hen thief on the Hühnermarkt and wrinkle their noses at the sulphur smell of the Elisenbrunnen. With a grown-up in every team and only 2 km from the city gate to the spa pavilion, young legs last to the end.

Students, colleagues and visiting groups

RWTH students, conference guests and company teams can split into groups of up to 5, each player on their own phone, and set off along Pontstraße a few minutes apart. Nothing needs booking beyond the tickets, and the colonnade of the Elisenbrunnen makes an easy place to regroup at the end.

Good to know

  • Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
  • No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
  • Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
  • Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
  • Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.

The route: through the Pont quarter and past the cathedral to the Elisenbrunnen

10 stops · about 24 min walking · start: Ponttor · finish: Elisenbrunnen

The hunt starts at the Ponttor and follows Pontstraße through the student quarter, past the Church of the Holy Cross and the International Newspaper Museum, to City Hall on the market square. From the Centre Charlemagne on the Katschhof you continue to the Couven Museum, the Puppenbrunnen and Aachen Cathedral, then pass the Kreislauf des Geldes fountain and finish at the Elisenbrunnen. Since every answer can be read from façades, fountains and squares, the game never needs an admission ticket, and if you arrive at the main station or stay near the cathedral, the app lets you open the hunt at a closer stop and rearrange the rest to suit you.

Open the route map ↗

  1. Ponttor

    1PonttorStart

    The Ponttor is one of only two surviving gates of Aachen's outer city wall, built in the 14th century. Its main gate tower is joined to an outer gate by walls, a layout that trapped attackers between the two, and it stands at the end of Pontstraße, the street that leads to the market square.

  2. Church of the Holy Cross

    2Church of the Holy Cross

    This Catholic church stands in the Pont quarter, the lively district around Pontstraße that is popular with students of RWTH Aachen University. Compare its quiet church front with the cafés, bars and student pubs that line the rest of the street.

  3. International Newspaper Museum

    3International Newspaper Museum

    The museum was founded in 1886 by Oscar von Forckenbeck and holds one of the largest collections of newspapers in the world, including many historic first and special editions. Aachen suits the theme: in 1850 Paul Julius Reuter ran a carrier-pigeon news service from here, before founding his news agency in London.

  4. City Hall

    4City Hall

    Aachen's Gothic City Hall was built in the 14th century on the walls of Charlemagne's palace hall, and the Granus Tower on its east side goes back to his time. After their coronation in the cathedral, German kings held their banquet in its great hall, and the Charlemagne Prize for services to European unity is awarded here every year.

  5. Centre Charlemagne

    5Centre Charlemagne

    This museum of city history opened in 2014 on the Katschhof, the square between City Hall and the cathedral where Charlemagne's palace once stood. It tells Aachen's story from the Roman spa town to today, with Charlemagne and the coronations of kings at its centre.

  6. Couven Museum

    6Couven Museum

    This museum shows how wealthy Aachen families lived in the 18th and 19th centuries, in furnished rooms from rococo to Biedermeier. It is named after the Aachen architect Johann Joseph Couven, and on the Hühnermarkt in front stands the Hühnerdieb fountain, a bronze thief making off with a hen.

  7. Puppenbrunnen

    7Puppenbrunnen

    The Doll Fountain on Krämerstraße was created by the sculptor Bonifatius Stirnberg in the 1970s. Its bronze figures represent characters from Aachen life, and their arms and heads are jointed, so you are allowed to move them and change their poses.

    Read the full story →

  8. Aachen Cathedral

    8Aachen Cathedral

    Charlemagne built the octagonal Palatine Chapel around 800 as part of his palace, and he was buried here in 814. Between 936 and 1531 some 30 German kings were crowned here, and in 1978 the cathedral became the first German site on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

  9. Kreislauf des Geldes

    9Kreislauf des Geldes

    This bronze fountain sculpture, whose name means the circulation of money, shows a ring of figures through whose hands money passes. Take a close look at their faces and gestures, which comment with plenty of humour on what money does to people.

  10. Elisenbrunnen

    10ElisenbrunnenFinish

    This neoclassical pavilion with its colonnade was built in the 1820s and named after Crown Princess Elisabeth of Prussia. Two fountains deliver warm thermal water with a strong smell of sulphur, and plaques list famous spa guests who came to Aachen for its springs, such as Peter the Great.

    Read the full story →

53 reviews for Aachen Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

  1. Rated 5 out of 5

    Anonym (verified owner) –

    hat spass gemacht!

  2. Rated 5 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Merci

  3. Rated 5 out of 5

    Maaike– Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Leuk

  4. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  5. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  6. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  7. Rated 5 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Een leuke activiteit om Aken mee te ontdekken. Sommige puzzels zijn best lastig, mede ook omdat er een aantal bezienswaardigheden in de steigers stonden, maar over het algemeen zijn de puzzels goed te doen.

  8. Rated 5 out of 5

    Eva– Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Es war ein interessanter Spaziergang durch die Stadt

  9. Rated 4 out of 5

    Maarten– Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    The puzzles were fun, but the information on the sights was rather poor, less than I expected.

  10. Rated 5 out of 5

    Martina– Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Es war interessant aber auch nicht schwer die R?tsel zu l?sen. War eine nette Abwechslung bei einem Vettern und Cousinen treffen. Alles in allem hat es uns gefallen.??

  11. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Die Texte auf deutsch waren teilweise sehr wiederholend. k?nnte man noch etwas ?berarbeiten. die Tour mit den Highlights und die Strecke waren super und spannend bis zum Schluss.

  12. Rated 4 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Le parcours est bien fait et int?ressant car il permet de voir les principaux sites. Nous aurions aim? avoir les explications des ?nigmes et non seulement la r?ponse.

  13. Rated 4 out of 5

    Teo– Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Some of the information was repetitive and some of the questions are a bit vague. However, it did give us a fun time. Used it in the dutch language.

  14. Rated 5 out of 5

    Tessa– Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    De hoogtepunten van Aken in een boeiende leerrijke wandelzoektocht

  15. Rated 5 out of 5

    Greece –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Amazing way to explore the city. The puzzles were of a mixed difficulty and some of them really make you think. The info about the sights were interesting and of the correct length, not too much and not too little. Recommended

  16. Rated 5 out of 5

    Emily-Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  17. Rated 5 out of 5

    Sophia-Bulgaria –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  18. Rated 5 out of 5

    Maya-Bulgaria –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  19. Rated 5 out of 5

    Eli-Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  20. Rated 5 out of 5

    Elijah-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  21. Rated 5 out of 5

    Hannah-Russia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  22. Rated 3 out of 5

    Lucy-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  23. Rated 5 out of 5

    Eli-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  24. Rated 5 out of 5

    Ella-Slovenia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  25. Rated 5 out of 5

    Violet-Croatia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  26. Rated 5 out of 5

    Jordan-Romania –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  27. Rated 5 out of 5

    Addison-Australia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  28. Rated 5 out of 5

    Emily-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  29. Rated 5 out of 5

    Grace-Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  30. Rated 5 out of 5

    Olivia-Latvia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  31. Rated 5 out of 5

    Aiden-Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  32. Rated 5 out of 5

    Victoria-Denmark –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  33. Rated 5 out of 5

    Brayden-Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  34. Rated 5 out of 5

    Savannah-Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  35. Rated 5 out of 5

    Victoria-Latvia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  36. Rated 5 out of 5

    Laura-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  37. Rated 5 out of 5

    Zoe-Norway –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  38. Rated 5 out of 5

    Benjamin-Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  39. Rated 4 out of 5

    Riley-Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  40. Rated 5 out of 5

    Sebastian-Slovakia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  41. Rated 5 out of 5

    Gabriel-Latvia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  42. Rated 5 out of 5

    Isaac-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  43. Rated 5 out of 5

    Liam-Finland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  44. Rated 5 out of 5

    Jack-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  45. Rated 5 out of 5

    Abigail-Bulgaria –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  46. Rated 5 out of 5

    Marie-Bulgaria –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  47. Rated 5 out of 5

    Riley-Latvia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  48. Rated 5 out of 5

    Nathan-Russia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  49. Rated 5 out of 5

    Natalie-Bulgaria –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  50. Rated 5 out of 5

    Julian-Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Frequently asked questions

How much of the 2 hours in Aachen is spent walking?

Only about 24 minutes. The game lasts roughly 2 hours, its 10 stops lie within 2 km, and the rest of the time belongs to riddles, Charlemagne's stories and close looking. You may pause at any point, and the game picks up where you left it.

Does the game really start at a city gate and end at a fountain?

Yes on both counts. You set off at the Ponttor, one of the two gates left from Aachen's outer city wall, at the far end of Pontstraße, and the last riddle waits at the Elisenbrunnen, the colonnaded pavilion where warm thermal water flows. Arriving from the station or staying near the cathedral, you can make a closer stop your first one in the app.

Must we book a slot or wait for a guide at the Ponttor?

Neither a slot nor a guide is involved. The booking reference sent by email unlocks the game in the World City Trail app, and from then on you choose the day and the hour to stand at the Ponttor. With one ticket per head, the whole team can follow the Aachen riddles together, each person on a separate phone.

Do we pay extra at the Centre Charlemagne or the other museums?

No, since the riddles never take you indoors, the game itself involves no admission. Going inside the Centre Charlemagne, the Couven Museum or the International Newspaper Museum, or touring the halls of City Hall, is paid and entirely optional, so add it to your day only if you want to.

What will children find to do between the Ponttor and the Elisenbrunnen?

Plenty to touch and sniff, provided a grown-up plays in their team. At the Puppenbrunnen they are allowed to move the jointed bronze figures, on the Hühnermarkt they spot a thief making off with a hen, and at the Elisenbrunnen they can smell the sulphur in the warm water. Wheelchairs cannot manage the route, and a pushchair turns the 2 km into hard work.

Can our group play in Dutch, French or Spanish?

Yes, all three are offered, alongside English, German and Italian, six languages in total for a city that sits right on the Dutch and Belgian border. Everyone sets their own in the World City Trail app before the Ponttor riddle opens.

Would this work for an RWTH seminar group or a works outing?

It works well. Book a ticket per person, form teams of up to five and send them off from the Ponttor at intervals, then gather again under the colonnade of the Elisenbrunnen. From Pontstraße to the spa pavilion the game uses public space only, so there is no room to hire and no time slot to agree.

What should a team carry for a game in Aachen?

One charged smartphone with mobile data per team, a power bank, comfortable shoes and a jacket or umbrella in case the weather changes. Earphones help when the market square in front of City Hall gets busy.

Start under the arch of the Ponttor

Book online with one ticket for each player, then watch your inbox for the booking reference. Whenever you are ready, go to the medieval gate where Pontstraße ends and open riddle number one.

Book your tickets →

Related products

Shopping Basket
Scroll to Top