Canals, a stone prison and a bridge for lovers: Annecy as a game
The Annecy scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from the lakeshore into the old town, solve a riddle at each landmark by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. Lakeshore and old town sit so close together that the 10 stops and 2 km need barely 18 minutes of walking, which leaves almost all of the roughly 2 hours for riddles, legends and looking at the water, and the game begins at whatever moment you choose to open it.
Highlights include the Pont des Amours, the statue of the chemist Claude Louis Berthollet, the view over Lake Annecy, the Palais de l'Île on its island in the Thiou, Notre-Dame-de-Liesse and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Annecy is small and flat, and its canals, bridges and arcaded streets make it a town you can see entirely on foot.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 18 min · 2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Riddles between Lake Annecy and the Thiou, from the Pont des Amours to the Pont Morens
Clues on bridges and church fronts
In Annecy the puzzles are set into what you pass: the railings of the Pont des Amours, the statue of a chemist by the lake, the pointed island walls of the Palais de l'Île. A careful look and a bit of logic do the job, and no reading up beforehand is required.
A kiss, a bleach and a bishop in exile
Solved riddles unlock Annecy's tales: the custom that couples who kiss on the Pont des Amours stay together, how Berthollet's work with chlorine gave France its eau de Javel, and why the bishops of Geneva moved to Annecy during the Reformation. Prefer listening? Rather watch the swans on the canals than read? The audio narration will tell you the tales of the old town instead.
2 km, mostly along water
Barely 18 minutes of walking take you from the lakeside gardens past the town hall and into the old town, where the route follows the Thiou from bridge to bridge. The streets are short and level, and Google Maps keeps you on track between stops.
Fondue in the arcades, a rest on the Pâquier
Since nothing is timed, you can break for a Savoyard lunch under the arcades or stretch out on the lakeside lawns of the Pâquier, then pick up the riddles later that day or the next. Along the way the app also tips a few local spots for food and shopping.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Day trippers from Geneva, lake holidaymakers, families and groups
A half day from Geneva or the Alps
Annecy lies about 35 km from Geneva, and in around 2 hours the game covers the lake, the island palace, the churches and the canals that earned it the name Venice of the Alps. That leaves the rest of the day for a boat on the lake or the drive back to the mountains.
Kids who like castles in rivers
Children are usually taken with the Palais de l'Île, a stone fortress shaped like a ship that once held prisoners, with the lovers' bridge and with the view of the mountains across the lake. An adult joins every team, and with just 18 minutes on foot nobody runs out of steam.
Teams on an Alpine offsite
Teams of up to 5 compete side by side, every player following on their own phone, and groups can be sent off from the Pont des Amours at short intervals. The Pont Morens in the old town makes a compact finish line for comparing results, and the tickets are the only thing you book.
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.


























Chuey– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
C’?tait tr?s int?ressant et amusant
Jeffrey– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Took me around Annecy quite nicely, although the puzzle aspect was not always helpful. It’s possible to ignore that though if you want. The write ups were over-long
Mariona– Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
La idea me pareci? genial,poder descubrir ANNECY siguiendo las pistas. Pero,a m? parecer,la informaci? era demasiado densa,seguramente por como estaba expuesta,se hac?a pesada la lectura
Emma– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tr?s sympa pour motiver les enfants ? visiter la ville.
Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die App ist leider mehrmals abgest?rzt (World City Trail). Die Route der Sehensw?rdigkeiten war allerdings sehr gut gegliedert. 10€ waren allerdings ein wenig zu viel, habe mir mehr von der Schnitzeljagd erwartet. W?re auch toll gewesen wenn man eine “H?rfunktion” f?r den Text gehabt h?tte, sodass man nicht st?ndig lesen muss (vor allem bei sehr sonnigen Wetter gestaltet es sich schwer alles am Bildschirm zu erkennen + Abwechselung).
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was sent the easiest app to navigate but had a couple of hours fun around Annecy
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Une belle d?couverte et ludique de la ville d’Annecy
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Great guide that was delivered through the app. Nice to have a walking tour and information on all of the different places.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Kurze spannende Infos, gut l?sbare R?tsel
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Mani?re ludique de d?couvrir la ville et son histoire ! Je recommande
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tr?s bien. Assez ludique. Mais il n’y a aucun audio. Dommage.
Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
? stato divertente andare alla scoperta dei luoghi di Annecy e risolvere i quiz. I miei figli (8 e 11 anni) non sempre avevano voglia di leggere tutte le parti informative ma ho potuto recuperare dopo, a conclusione del gioco
Stephanie– United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We had fun doing the scavenger hunt and walking around the beautiful city. It’s nice that you go at your own pace.
Ilenia– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Abbiamo trovato questa applicazione divertente, ci ha permesso di girare per 1.5h il centro. Una proposta diversa dal solito. Mi sarebbe piaciuto ascoltare le informazioni anzich? leggerle per poter guardare intorno senza stare troppo al telefono. Tuttavia non so se dipenda dal fatto che io abbia cercato male oppure se non esiste proprio l’opzione. Ci? nonostante, voto positivamente la caccia al tesoro.
Neshiel– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was fun and a great way to explore the city. ??
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Principe du jeu sympathique mais sans plus. Rapport qualit? prix en dessous de nos attentes (10€). Nous avons fait 8 questions sur 10 et avons abandonn? vers la fin par manque d’int?r?t
Sandra– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Fa?on sympa de d?couvrir les points principaux de la ville. Les distances entre les diff?rents points sont courtes. ?nigmes vari?es.
Floriane– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Activit? g?niale je recommande ? 100%. Il y a des ?nigmes assez simples et quelques unes compliqu?es c’est parfait pour le c?t? stimulant. Il y a aussi un c?t? histoire qui est le bienvenu dans ce type d’activit?.
Martijn– Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Heel leuk om op deze manier de oude stad van Annecy te bekijken. Je kijkt toch anders naar gebouwen en andere objecten
Carol– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
10/10
Melina– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Top
Melanie– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Le jeu est plut?t pas mal, mais on se concentre que sur une petite partie de Annecy. De plus, certaines ?nigmes n’?taient pas possibles car les b?timents ?taient en travaux. Mais le gros point noir est les explications. Ce n’est pas clair comment utiliser le jeu, ce qu’il faut t?l?charger, etc. De plus, le service client met du temps ? r?pondre.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
This is a really great idea as I wanted to engage the kids (10&12) while we went sightseeing. The first clue was fun and I was looking forward to the rest of it. However, my biggest issue was that you had to do the clues in strict order and that didn’t suit my plans for the day. It is fine to have a firm itinerary for those who want it, but I just wanted to go to a few main sights and have something for the kids to do at that point. This wasn’t possible sadly so for me it didn’t work, but I’d imagine good for those looking to immerse themselves in it. Also if you put one person in the basket, it automatically calculates a minimum of two so actually cost nearer £11 which wasn’t clear before purchasing.
Maye– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
trop court
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sympa mais sans plus ! Je m’attendais ? d?couvrir un peu plus de lieux « cach?s » des touristes, des jolis points de vue ou autre… Mais le fait de devoir r?soudre des ?nigmes ?tait plut?t sympa ! L’id?e de base est bonne mais peut-?tre ? am?liorer…
Kevin– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Top activit? ? faire entre amis , en couple, en famille. A faire en cas de beau temps. Application facile ? utiliser je recommande
Argentina –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ha sido una muy buena opci?n para conocer el centro hist?rico de Annecy. Lamentablemente no pudimos seguir muy bien las instrucciones del juego, de todas maneras apreciamos la conectividad, la gu?a a trav?s del mapa para movernos un punto a otro.
Nathalie– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Vraiment tr?s sympa ? faire et assez tranquille . Merci
V?ro– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
C’est tr?s sympa, ?a change de d?couvrir une ville comme cela. Par contre ce n’est qu’une toute petite partie du vieux Annecy qui est concern?, un tour plus important serait sympa aussi !
Romane– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
On a vien visit? la ville et les enigmes sont sympa
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
My 9 year old son and I were traveling through Annecy and booked this self guided tour with fun facts/ puzzles as a way to get to know the city that also kept him engaged. Pros: you can use it on multiple days to finish the entire game. Cons: it may be hard to finish the game within a few hours as we were trying to do. Also we could have got by with just one persons worth of the activity as we were solving it together, instead of purchasing two individual’s worth of it. Otherwise it was informative of the local history abc landmarks. Hope this is helpful. Have a great time!!
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Visiter autrement. Pas mal du tout
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Parfait avec des enfants de 12 ans. Les ?nigmes peuvent ?tre r?solues assez facilement ce qui permet s’ils ne se lassent pas
Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Heel leuk
R?union –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bonne exp?rience de visite – jeux
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Fun activity to get to know Annecy. Would recommend if you want to combine history with a bit of competition. We did it in about 1,5 hours, without taking a break. Not sure if this would be an activity to keep you occupied for a whole morning/afternoon.
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
World City Trail helped us explore the city of Annecy in around 1,5 hours, with a dog, without needing to go in any shops or attractions. The app gives you information about the places your visiting, as well as some small puzzles that you get to solve.
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Leuke speurtocht en mooie plekjes van de stad gezien. Even een moeilijke start, de taal was frans i.p.v. Nederlands, maar dat was snel opgelost toen we via whapsapp contact hadden gezocht. Ook leuk om met kinderen te doen!
United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was a fun way to acquaint oneself with Annecy, but had I to do it over again, I would have spent the money for an in person guide.
Norway –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Had a good time visiting Annecy using the game. Great that there was information provided to help understand which I found interesting. It is a different way of visiting the city
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tour molto bello
Indonesia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Interesting nonetheless
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Un jeu de piste tr?s ludique et original, accessible m?me en ?quipe de 2 et facile d’utilisation avec son portable. On a ador?. Et bien s?r on recommande.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Just completed the Annecy Highlights Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt & Walking Tour booked through GetYouGuide App. Great way to tour the centre of the town, exploring some of the monuments. Loved the facts given in-between puzzles. The app wasn’t working to start with and kept freezing but it was sorted out very quick! Would recomend!
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
I would do the same tour again! Highly enjoyed it…
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Explore places in an all new way!!! This App is easy to use.
South Africa –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Fun family activity that was enjoyed by all!
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bonne id?e mais on reste sur sa faim. Des anecdotes insolites concernant les ?tapes du parcours auraient donn? plus de fun ? l’activit?. Le parcours est aussi trop court et ne permet pas de d?couvrir d’autres lieux majeurs de la ville. Dommage que le ch?teau et la vieille ville n’aient pas eu plus de place dans le jeu.
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bonne d?couverte de la ville en s’amusant ? r?soudre des ?nigmes. Petit b?mol devant l’h?tel de ville qui ?tait en travaux et donc nous n’avons pu r?soudre l’?nigme de la fa?ade !
jordan –
Beautiful activity