Red sandstone, painted walls and the Rhine: Basel as a riddle trail
The Basel 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 station park to the river you cover around 44 minutes on foot and 3.5 km across 10 stops, and with the riddles and their stories the game runs to about 3 hours, starting whenever suits you.
Highlights include the red sandstone Minster above the Rhine, the painted Town Hall on the Marktplatz, the medieval Spalentor, the Mittlere Brücke with its little chapel and the Rhine itself, where locals swim in summer. Basel's old town is compact, so in one walk you link churches, museums, a city gate and the river.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 44 min · 3.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese
From the station park over the Minster hill to the river
A dragon, a cloak and a red town hall
Each of the 10 stops holds a riddle, and the clue is carved, painted or glazed right in front of you: Saint George fighting the dragon and Saint Martin sharing his cloak on the Minster front, the gilded details of the red Town Hall, the coloured roof tiles of the Spalentor. Nothing has to be learned in advance.
From an earthquake to a rescue
The answers open Basel's stories: why the city had to rebuild its Minster and raise a new wall after the earthquake of 1356, why Strasbourg thanked Switzerland with a monument by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, and what tradition says about the little chapel on the Mittlere Brücke. On the Pfalz terrace above the river, the audio narration makes a good companion.
Up the Minster hill, down to the Rhine
Around 44 minutes on foot over 3.5 km take you from the station park up to the Minster, down to the Marktplatz, out to the Spalentor and back to the river. Google Maps keeps you on track on the stairways between the Minster hill and the Marktplatz.
Läckerli, a ferry and a summer swim
With no countdown, you can buy Basler Läckerli biscuits with the help of the app's tips, cross the Rhine on one of the engine-less ferries or join the locals swimming downstream in summer, then continue later or on another day.
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, families and colleagues at the Rhine knee
Visitors hopping over from Germany or France
Basel lies where Switzerland, Germany and France meet, and many people come for a single day by train. The game begins a few minutes from Basel SBB and fills about 3 hours, which leaves the evening free for the riverbank.
Families with young dragon-spotters
Children like finding Saint George's dragon on the Minster, the bright roof tiles of the Spalentor and the crowned head that sticks out its tongue by the Mittlere Brücke. An adult plays in each team, and the Rhine promenade has room for a break.
Colleagues after a meeting in Basel
Teams of up to 5, each player on their own phone, can set off from the Strassburger Denkmal after work and finish together beside the Rhine. Every stop is in public space, so one ticket per player is all the organising it takes.
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 the Strassburger Denkmal via the Minster and the Spalentor to the Rhine
10 stops · about 44 min walking · start: Strassburger Denkmal · finish: Rhine in Basel
The hunt starts at the Strassburger Denkmal near the main station and leads past the Offene Kirche Elisabethen and the Kunstmuseum Basel up to the Minster and the Natural History Museum on Augustinergasse. You then go down to the Town Hall on the Marktplatz, out to the Spalentor and back past St Peter's Church to the Mittlere Brücke, and you finish on the banks of the Rhine. The riddles never take you through a museum door or a ticket barrier, and if you are staying in Kleinbasel or near the Marktplatz, the app can open the game at a closer stop and put the rest in a new order.
Open the route map ↗
1Strassburger DenkmalStart
This monument by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, was unveiled in 1895 in the park by the Elisabethen church. It thanks Switzerland for helping the people of Strasbourg during the siege of 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War, when Swiss delegates arranged for civilians to leave the city.
2Offene Kirche Elisabethen
The Elisabethen church was built between 1857 and 1865 to plans by Ferdinand Stadler and paid for by the Basel philanthropist Christoph Merian and his wife, who are buried in its crypt. It is regarded as one of the most important neo-Gothic churches in Switzerland, and since 1994 it has been run as an open church for services, concerts and events.
3Kunstmuseum Basel
Basel's art museum on St Alban-Graben grew out of the Amerbach Cabinet, a private collection the city bought in 1661, and it is often called the oldest public art collection in the world. The main building opened in 1936, and the new building across the street, opened in 2016, has a grey brick façade with a frieze that can display text in light.
4Basel Minster
Built of red sandstone between 1019 and 1500, the Minster mixes Romanesque and Gothic styles and was largely rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1356. On the west front, Saint George fights the dragon and Saint Martin shares his cloak, and the humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam is buried inside. Behind it, the Pfalz terrace looks out over the Rhine.
5Natural History Museum Basel
The Naturhistorisches Museum shares a neoclassical building on Augustinergasse with the Museum der Kulturen, designed by Melchior Berri and completed in 1849. Its collections range from minerals and fossils to dinosaurs and the animals of the Alps, and the street outside runs along the Minster hill high above the Rhine.
6Basel Town Hall
The red Town Hall on the Marktplatz was built between 1504 and 1514, shortly after Basel joined the Swiss Confederation in 1501. Its painted façade, gilded details and clock make it easy to spot, and it is still the seat of the cantonal government and parliament of Basel-Stadt.
7Spalentor
The Spalentor was built around 1400 as the grandest gate of the city wall that Basel raised after the earthquake of 1356. Look for its roof of coloured glazed tiles and the figures of the Virgin Mary and two prophets on the outer side. It is one of only three city gates that survive in Basel.
Read the full story →
8St Peter's Church
The Peterskirche is one of Basel's old parish churches, a Gothic church standing beside Petersplatz on the edge of the university quarter. It became Protestant with the Basel Reformation of 1529. Next to it, the tree-lined Petersplatz hosts a flea market and part of the city's autumn fair, the Herbstmesse.
9Mittlere Brücke
A bridge has stood here since around 1225, making it one of the oldest crossings of the Rhine, and for centuries it was the only bridge in Basel. The present stone bridge was built between 1903 and 1905. In its middle stands the Käppelijoch, a small chapel where, according to tradition, condemned people were once thrown into the river.
Read the full story →
10Rhine in BaselFinish
At Basel the Rhine makes a wide bend to the north, the Rheinknie, and splits the city into Grossbasel and Kleinbasel. In summer many locals swim downstream with a waterproof bag called a Wickelfisch, and small ferries without engines cross the river pulled only by the current along a cable.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Anonym (verified owner) –
Sehr lehrreich, spannend und gut gemacht.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Thomas Kjær– Denmark –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Svært at starte med flere forskellige apps og spilleregler. Ellers fungerer fint
Tom– Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ongeloof leuk! Vlekkeloos verlopen, duidelijke instructies, veel info. Heel erg toffe manier om zo de stad te leren kennen. Route langs 10 plekken, bij elke plek wordt een vraag gesteld, ook te doen voor kinderen, onze dochter van 10 kon alles mee oplossen. Een echte aanrader!
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Very fun and easy to navigate! Some puzzles were quite easy and others were harder.
Claudia– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Auswahl der Sehenswürdigkeiten war gut, man hätte aber den Tinguely Brunnen mit rein nehmen können. Eine ausführlichere Beschreibung wäre manchmal gut, z. B. an der Mitteleren Brücke, dass man sich die gesamte Brücke anschaut. Wir haben eine ganze Weile an dem “Häuschen” geschaut, obwohl die Antwort wo ganz anders war.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Durch die App wurde man zu den wesentlichen Sehenswürdigkeiten von Basel geführt und konnte darüber hinaus auch noch etwas rätseln, wenn man wollte. Die Idee mit den Teams finde ich auch nicht schlecht. Ist bei größeren Gruppen bestimmt interessant. Die Erklärungen, wie man die App zu bedienen hatte, waren zu viele auf einmal. Da wäre eine interaktive Erklärung Step by Step besser. Außerdem könnten die Texte noch mal redigiert werden. Manchmal waren Passagen doppelt. Ansonsten hat es Spaß gemacht.
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Spannend, führte uns bei den sehenswerten Lokalitäten vorbei
Michael– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Punkte und Laufwege in Basel waren sehr schön ausgewählt. Zusammen mit schönem Wetter ist das ideal. Für Kinder (junge Jugendliche) sind die Texte zu akademische. Eine Option für Kinder/Jugendliche mit einfacheren Texten und ggf. Vorlesefunktion wäre ideal. Wir freuen uns schon auf eine Erweiterung für Klein-Basel.
Simon– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Schnitzeljagd hat uns an schöne Orte geführt. Die Texte waren allerdings nicht sehr brauchbar. Viele Texte waren gar nicht zu den jeweiligen Sehenswürdigkeiten, sondern über allgemeine Themen zur Schweiz (zum Beispiel die Geschichte von Wilhelm Tell). Beim deutschen Text handelte es sich ausserdem um eine schlechte Übersetzung. Wir haben dann nicht bis zum Schluss mitgemacht.
Sweden –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Many clues are more like instructions. A fun way to explore the city
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Eine nette Sache um Basel etwas näher kennenzulernen. Die Hinweise helfen im Zweifel auch gut weiter. Ein Rätsel war für mich nicht lösbar, vielleicht wurde mal gestrichen? Das müsste noch mal evaluiert werden. Viel Spaß
Barbara– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es war interessant und lustig. Ein guter Einblick in die Stadt. Die Aufgaben waren manchmal etwas unklar formuliert.
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sympa mais les choses dites sur l’audio guide n’avait jamais de rapport avec le monument mais plutôt des choses générales sur la ville (parfois même pas sur la ville)
Alexandra– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Fun way to see the city
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Rätsel lösen und die Stadt entdecken-eine abwechslungsreiche Variante! Kurzweilige Tour und man bekommt viele interessante Details zum Lesen.
Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es un modo diferente y lúdico para conocer la ciudad de Basilea. Te permite identificar curiosidades que, de otro modo, tal vez no hubieras identificado.
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
War interessant und spannend
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nous avons beaucoup apprécié cette chasse à travers la ville. Cela nous permet en une journée de connaître ces points clés. À refaire à chaque visite d’une nouvelle ville.
KEko –
Very nice way to explore the small city center and the old town of Basel. We used our mind to interact with the attractions and this was a very nice idea.