Amsterdam scavenger hunt
Rising gracefully above the Prinsengracht canal in the Jordaan district, the Westerkerk is an iconic 17th-century Renaissance Protestant church famous for its soaring, crown-topped bell tower and as the final resting place of the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn.
Located on Dam Square in the heart of the city, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is a popular wax museum featuring interactive exhibits and lifelike figures of international celebrities, Dutch icons, and historical royalty.
Nestled within Amsterdam's historic canal ring, Negen Straatjes (The Nine Streets) is a vibrant and picturesque neighborhood celebrated for its scenic bridges, independent boutiques, vintage shops, and cozy cafés.
Prominently situated on the Damrak in central Amsterdam, the Beurs van Berlage is a striking 19th-century red-brick former commodities exchange designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, renowned as a pioneering masterpiece of modern Dutch architecture and now functioning as a premier venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
Standing as Amsterdam's oldest surviving building in the heart of De Wallen, the Oude Kerk (Old Church) is a monumental 13th-century Gothic landmark famed for its soaring wooden vaulted ceiling, historic pipe organs, and its modern role as a contemporary art space.
Amsterdam scavenger hunt
Rising gracefully above the Prinsengracht canal in the Jordaan district, the Westerkerk is an iconic 17th-century Renaissance Protestant church famous for its soaring, crown-topped bell tower and as the final resting place of the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn.
Located on Dam Square in the heart of the city, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is a popular wax museum featuring interactive exhibits and lifelike figures of international celebrities, Dutch icons, and historical royalty.
Nestled within Amsterdam's historic canal ring, Negen Straatjes (The Nine Streets) is a vibrant and picturesque neighborhood celebrated for its scenic bridges, independent boutiques, vintage shops, and cozy cafés.
Prominently situated on the Damrak in central Amsterdam, the Beurs van Berlage is a striking 19th-century red-brick former commodities exchange designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, renowned as a pioneering masterpiece of modern Dutch architecture and now functioning as a premier venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
Standing as Amsterdam's oldest surviving building in the heart of De Wallen, the Oude Kerk (Old Church) is a monumental 13th-century Gothic landmark famed for its soaring wooden vaulted ceiling, historic pipe organs, and its modern role as a contemporary art space.

Amsterdam Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

Rated 4.58 out of 5 based on 214 customer ratings
(214 customer reviews)

Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
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Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Amsterdam 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 →
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 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

How does the Amsterdam scavenger hunt work?

The Amsterdam scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from the station through the old centre to the canal ring, solve a riddle at each of 10 landmarks by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories behind it. It takes about 3 hours at a relaxed pace, with around 52 minutes of actual walking over 3.8 km, and you start whenever you like.

Highlights include the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Oude Kerk with its floor of gravestones, the Beurs van Berlage, the National Monument and the Royal Palace on Dam Square, and the Westerkerk with its crowned tower. The centre of Amsterdam is flat and compact, and canals, bridges and gabled houses line almost every step of the way.

  • Durationabout 3 hours
  • Walkingabout 52 min · 3.8 km
  • Stops10
  • LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch

Playing the hunt in the old centre

One riddle, one building

At each of the 10 stops a single riddle waits, and the answer is somewhere on the brickwork in front of you: the figure of Saint Nicholas high up between the two towers of his basilica, the inscriptions on the 40-metre clock tower of the Beurs van Berlage, Atlas holding up the globe on the rear gable of the Royal Palace. Nobody needs to know anything about Amsterdam beforehand.

Gravestones, gables and a lost grave

Solve it and the stop gives up its history: the roughly 2,500 gravestones that pave the Oude Kerk, among them Rembrandt's wife Saskia van Uylenburgh, buried in 1642; the 13,659 wooden piles that hold the Royal Palace out of the mud; the grave in the Westerkerk where Rembrandt was laid in 1669 and which can no longer be located. If reading on the move is awkward, the audio narration does it for you.

Short and flat on foot

Google Maps walks you from one stop to the next, 3.8 km and 52 minutes of walking from the station to the Nine Streets. There is not a hill on the route, only canal bridges and a lot of cobbles.

Pause whenever it suits

No timer is counting and no group is waiting for you on a bridge. Stop for a broodje or a beer on a terrace, pick the riddles up again later the same day or on the next one, and rearrange the stops in the app if you are coming from a different part of town.

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.

Who takes on the Amsterdam hunt

Newly arrived in Amsterdam

Centraal Station, the Damrak, De Wallen, Dam Square and the canal ring are joined up in 3.8 km, which is about as neat an introduction to the centre as the map allows. You come out of it able to tell the Oude Kerk from the Westerkerk and knowing which one Rembrandt lies in.

Children and canal bridges

Children usually see the clue before the adults do, and this route is full of things to point at: Atlas with the world on his shoulders, the imperial crown on top of the Westerkerk tower, street names such as Huidenstraat that say what was once traded there. A team with children needs a grown-up in it. Canal bridges and cobbles make the route impossible with a wheelchair and tiring with a buggy.

Friends and company outings

A team can have up to 5 players, each with the game on their own phone, so a group of friends or a department splits into teams and settles the arguments afterwards in the Nine Streets. Nothing on the route is booked or reserved, because all of it happens on public quays and squares.

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: from Centraal Station past the Dam to the Nine Streets

10 stops · about 52 min walking · start: Amsterdam Centraal · finish: De 9 Straatjes

The hunt starts at Amsterdam Centraal and crosses to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. You then walk along the Damrak to the Beurs van Berlage, into the old streets of De Wallen to the Oude Kerk and past Madame Tussauds to Dam Square with the National Monument and the Royal Palace. From there you cross the canals to the Anne Frank statue and the Westerkerk and finish in De 9 Straatjes. Which stop you begin at and the order you take them in are both yours to set in the app, and since every riddle is answered from the street outside, you will not be asked for an entry ticket at any point.

Open the route map ↗

  1. Amsterdam Centraal

    1Amsterdam CentraalStart

    Amsterdam's main railway station opened in 1889 and was designed by Pierre Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum. It stands on three artificial islands in the IJ, resting on thousands of wooden piles, and its long red-brick front faces the old city.

  2. Basilica of Saint Nicholas

    2Basilica of Saint Nicholas

    This Catholic church opposite the station was built in 1884–1887 to designs by Adrianus Bleijs, in a mix of neo-Baroque and neo-Renaissance styles. A statue of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors and of Amsterdam, stands high on the front between the two towers, and the church became a basilica in 2012.

    Read the full story →

  3. Beurs van Berlage

    3Beurs van Berlage

    Hendrik Petrus Berlage built this exchange on the Damrak between 1898 and 1903, and its plain brick walls broke with the richly decorated styles of the time. Look for the 40-metre clock tower with inscriptions urging patience; today the building is used for concerts, exhibitions and events.

  4. Oude Kerk

    4Oude Kerk

    The Old Church is the oldest building in Amsterdam and was consecrated in 1306, on a site where a wooden chapel had stood before. Its floor is made up of about 2,500 gravestones, among them that of Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt's wife, who was buried here in 1642.

  5. Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

    5Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

    Founded in 1970, the wax museum on Dam Square was the first Madame Tussauds outside the United Kingdom. Since 1991 it has occupied the upper floors of a former Peek & Cloppenburg department store from 1917, with figures ranging from the Dutch Golden Age to today's stars.

  6. National Monument on Dam Square

    6National Monument on Dam Square

    The 22-metre white stone pillar on Dam Square was unveiled by Queen Juliana on 4 May 1956 in memory of the victims of the Second World War. It was designed by the architect J.J.P. Oud with the sculptor John Rädecker, and every year on 4 May the national Remembrance of the Dead is held here.

  7. Royal Palace Amsterdam

    7Royal Palace Amsterdam

    The palace on Dam Square was built from 1648 as Amsterdam's town hall, designed by Jacob van Campen and resting on 13,659 wooden piles. Louis Napoleon turned it into a royal palace in 1808, and on the rear gable a 6-metre statue of Atlas carries the globe on his shoulders.

  8. Anne Frank Monument

    8Anne Frank Monument

    On the Westermarkt, beside the Westerkerk, stands a statue of Anne Frank by the sculptor Mari Andriessen, unveiled in 1977 with her father Otto Frank present. The Westerkerk tower and its bells, which she could see and hear from her hiding place nearby, appear often in her diary.

  9. Westerkerk

    9Westerkerk

    The Westerkerk was designed by Hendrick de Keyser and built in 1620–1631, the largest church in the Netherlands built for Protestants. Its 87-metre tower, the tallest church tower in Amsterdam, carries the crown of Emperor Maximilian I, and Rembrandt was buried here in 1669 in a grave whose location is now lost.

  10. De 9 Straatjes

    10De 9 StraatjesFinish

    These short side streets cross the Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht between the Raadhuisstraat and the Leidsegracht, and were laid out when the canal ring was built in the 17th century. Names such as Huidenstraat (Hides Street) and Wolvenstraat recall the hide and fur trades once carried on here.

    Read the full story →

214 reviews for Amsterdam Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

  1. Rated 5 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  2. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  3. Rated 5 out of 5

    Croatia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  4. Rated 5 out of 5

    Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  5. Rated 5 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  6. Rated 5 out of 5

    Luxembourg –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Great

  7. Rated 5 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Leuke, gevarieerde wandeling

  8. Rated 5 out of 5

    Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  9. Rated 5 out of 5

    Francesca– Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Tour interessante che ti permette di visitare diversi punti della citt?. Alcuni enigmi sono pi? complicati ma gli indizi aiutano. Consigliamo di salire sulla torre quando visitate la Oude Kerk.

  10. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Ein Punkt Abzug, da zu wenig Informationen ?ber die Ziele angeboten wurden. Zu wenig Informationen ?ber die Stadt. Allerdings hat man sich durch das Suchen an den Objekten diese auch genauer angesehen. Insgesamt eine lustige Erfahrung due wir gerne wiederholen.

  11. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    😉

  12. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Interesting way to explore the city, but I would have liked to see a link between the hints/puzzles and the short story presented before each mission.

  13. Rated 5 out of 5

    Greece –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Awesome tour!

  14. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  15. Rated 5 out of 5

    Brazil –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  16. Rated 5 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Dit was zo tof om te doen in het begin van onze city trip! Zo hadden we al een zicht op de prachtige stad! Top!

  17. Rated 4 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Coole Schnitzeljagd. In deutscher Sprache hat’s wohl einige ?bersetzungsfehler drin.

  18. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  19. Rated 5 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Hat Spa? gemacht. Aber die Fragen sind teilweise unpr?zise formuliert.

  20. Rated 5 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Es war sehr unterhaltsam. Dadurch, dass kein Zeitlimit gegeben war, konnten Pausen und Besuche der Sehensw?rdigkeiten problemlos integriert werden.

  21. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Very nice way to explore the city!

  22. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  23. Rated 5 out of 5

    Greece –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    We went on this game-tour on our own pace, we had stops for photos , lunch , Cafe any time and the riddles were well designed . Super!

  24. Rated 5 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  25. Rated 4 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  26. Rated 5 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  27. Rated 5 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Adore

  28. Rated 4 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Mag iets langer 🙂

  29. Rated 5 out of 5

    Hungary –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  30. Rated 4 out of 5

    Slovenia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Excellent way to explore a city

  31. Rated 5 out of 5

    Ghislain– Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Eine gesunde Mischung zwischen Informationen und Escape Game R?tsel. Sehr lustig und informativ.

  32. Rated 5 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  33. Rated 5 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  34. Rated 4 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    moin

  35. Rated 5 out of 5

    United Kingdom –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Thank you!

  36. Rated 4 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  37. Rated 4 out of 5

    Greece –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  38. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  39. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Leuk speurtocht

  40. Rated 5 out of 5

    Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  41. Rated 5 out of 5

    Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  42. Rated 5 out of 5

    Ireland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  43. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  44. Rated 5 out of 5

    Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    We enjoyed it at maximum.

  45. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  46. Rated 4 out of 5

    Belgium –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  47. Rated 5 out of 5

    David-L –

    Very nice activity. Value for money. The app worked great. Highly recommended to those who like riddles.

  48. Rated 5 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Chasse au tresor ludique

  49. Rated 4 out of 5

    U.S –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  50. Rated 5 out of 5

    Switzerland –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

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

Frequently asked questions

How many hours should we set aside for the Amsterdam scavenger hunt?

About 3 hours is right for the Amsterdam scavenger hunt at an unhurried pace. Walking accounts for 52 minutes of it, the route is 3.8 km long and it has 10 stops; the rest disappears into the riddles, the canal views and whatever you stop to eat. Nothing stops you breaking off and coming back to it.

Which landmark opens the hunt and which one closes it?

The first riddle is at Amsterdam Centraal, Pierre Cuypers' red-brick station on its three artificial islands, and the last one is in De 9 Straatjes between the main canals. Anyone staying in the canal ring can promote a nearer stop to first place in the app and walk the route towards the station instead.

Does somebody meet us, or do we just start?

You just start. No guide turns up and no hour has to be chosen: the booking reference arrives in your inbox, it opens the hunt in the World City Trail app, and the first riddle appears when you tap it. There is a ticket for every player, and each phone then runs its own game.

Is there anything on the route we have to buy a ticket for?

Not for the hunt. The 10 riddles are all answered outdoors, from gables, towers, monuments and squares, and the game never sends you through a door. The Royal Palace, the Oude Kerk, the Westerkerk tower and Madame Tussauds all charge for entry and all of them are visits you arrange separately, before or after the game.

Can we play it with kids?

Yes, and children often crack these clues first, provided a grown-up is playing too. The riddles turn on things you can see, which suits children: Atlas and his globe on the back of the Royal Palace, the crown on the Westerkerk tower, the saint between the basilica towers. Keep in mind that the bridges and cobblestones make a wheelchair impossible here and a buggy hard work.

Which language versions exist?

Six of them: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. You set the one you want in the World City Trail app at the station, before the first riddle loads.

What about a group of friends or a company outing?

That works well. One ticket per head, teams of five players at most, and as many teams as you like on the same route; send them off from Centraal Station a few minutes apart and compare scores over a drink in the Nine Streets. There is no venue involved, so nothing has to be hired or timed.

What do we need on us?

A charged phone with mobile data for each team, a power bank for a long afternoon, shoes that take 3.8 km of cobbles without complaint and a rain jacket, since the game is played entirely outdoors. Earphones help if you want the narration read to you over the traffic.

Centraal Station, the app, the first riddle

One ticket per player, booked online, and the reference is in your inbox within moments. You decide the day you walk out of Centraal Station, open the app and let the first riddle send you down the Damrak.

Book your tickets →

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