What to expect from the Bruges scavenger hunt
The Bruges scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through the medieval centre, solve a riddle at each landmark by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories behind it. The game fills about 2 hours, yet the stops are so close that walking takes only 24 minutes over 2 km and 10 stops, which leaves most of the time for looking, solving and the odd chocolate; the first riddle opens when you choose.
Highlights include the Belfry above the Markt, Saint Salvator's Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady with its brick tower and the Bonifacius Bridge, plus the canal view from the Rozenhoedkaai, the Burg with its Gothic City Hall and the Choco-Story chocolate museum. Bruges is small and flat, and canals and bridges are never far away, so the short walk leaves plenty of time to look around.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 24 min · 2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese
Canals, towers and riddles in medieval Bruges
Every answer is on a wall or a bridge
At each stop one riddle waits, and the clue is somewhere in the scene: a saint on a bridge, a coat of arms on a merchants' house, a date on a tower. Look carefully, think it through, and you have it, with no history homework required.
Merchants, counts and a relic
Solve the riddle and the stop unlocks its stories: the wealthy traders who met in the Poortersloge, the counts of Flanders who built their castle on the Burg, the relic said to hold drops of Christ's blood, the legend of the Prague priest whose statue guards the Nepomucenus Bridge. The audio narration can tell it all while you watch the boats go by.
Only 2 km in all
Google Maps takes you from stop to stop: 24 minutes of walking all together, along the canals from Jan van Eyckplein via the Markt to the Rozenhoedkaai and the Burg. Bruges is flat, but expect cobblestones nearly everywhere.
Waffles welcome
The game has no clock, so a waffle, a Belgian beer or a long look at the view from the Rozenhoedkaai fits in whenever you like. Carry on later or tomorrow, and change the order in the app if your hotel is closer to the Burg than to Jan van Eyckplein.
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.
Who should play the Bruges hunt
A day trip to Bruges
Many visitors have only a day, and the Belfry, the two great churches, the canal views and the Burg all lie along 2 km of streets and quays. The riddles turn the walk into more than a series of photo stops.
Young detectives
Bruges rewards small, sharp eyes: swans on the canals, a saint standing on a bridge, a bridge that looks medieval but is little more than a century old, a tower that rises above every roof. An adult must play in each team, and the route ends at a chocolate museum, which tends to help.
Away days and club trips
Teams of up to 5, each player with the game on their own phone, can set off from Jan van Eyckplein together and compare scores at Choco-Story. The streets and squares are public, so all you organise is one ticket per person.
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 Jan van Eyckplein past the Belfry and the canals to the Burg
10 stops · about 24 min walking · start: Jan van Eyckplein · finish: Choco-Story Chocolate Museum
The hunt starts on Jan van Eyckplein, the old merchants' square at the end of the Spiegelrei canal, and passes the Municipal Theatre on the way to the Belfry on the Markt. From there you walk to Saint Salvator's Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, cross the Bonifacius and Nepomucenus bridges to the Rozenhoedkaai, continue to the Burg and finish at the Choco-Story chocolate museum. Every riddle is answered from the street, the quay or the bridge, so no entry ticket comes into play, and if you would rather start at the Burg or elsewhere, the app lets you begin there and reorder the stops.
Open the route map ↗
1Jan van EyckpleinStart
This square at the end of the Spiegelrei canal was a busy trading spot in medieval Bruges. On one side stands the Poortersloge, built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries as a meeting house for wealthy merchants, and close by is the Tolhuis, the former customs house from 1477.
Read the full story →
2Municipal Theatre (Stadsschouwburg)
The Stadsschouwburg on the Vlamingstraat opened in 1869 and is still the city's main theatre. Its neo-Renaissance facade is decorated with columns and statues, and inside is a richly decorated foyer and horseshoe-shaped auditorium in nineteenth-century style.
3Belfry of Bruges
The Belfry rises 83 metres above the Markt; it was begun around 1240, and its octagonal top stage was added in 1483–1487. A steep staircase of 366 steps leads up to a carillon of 47 bells, and the tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4Saint Salvator's Cathedral
Work on the present church of Saint Salvator began in 1250, and in 1834 it became the cathedral of Bruges, replacing the destroyed Saint Donatian's Cathedral. Its fortress-like neo-Romanesque west tower is 99 metres high, and its base dates from the 12th century.
Read the full story →
5Church of Our Lady
The brick tower of the Church of Our Lady is 115.6 metres high, still the tallest structure in Bruges and one of the tallest brick church towers in the world. Inside are Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, given to the church in 1514 by the Bruges merchant family Mouscron, and the tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy.
Read the full story →
6Bonifacius Bridge
This small arched bridge over the canal looks medieval, but it was only built in 1910 and is one of the youngest bridges in Bruges. From it you look along the water to the Gruuthuse Palace and the tower of the Church of Our Lady.
Read the full story →
7Nepomucenus Bridge (Sint-Jan Nepomucenusbrug)
This bridge over the Dijver canal carries an 18th-century statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of bridges. According to legend, the Prague priest was thrown into the Vltava in 1393 for refusing to reveal the queen's confession, which is why his statue watches over so many bridges in Europe.
8Rozenhoedkaai (Rosary Quay)
The Rozenhoedkaai lies where the Dijver and Groenerei canals meet and offers one of the best-known views in Bruges, with the Belfry rising above the old houses. Its name is said to recall the rosaries that were once sold here.
Read the full story →
9Burg Square
The Burg is where the counts of Flanders built their castle, and it was the seat of power in medieval Bruges. On the square stand the Gothic City Hall, begun in 1376 and one of the oldest town halls in the Low Countries, and the Basilica of the Holy Blood, which keeps a relic said to contain drops of Christ's blood.
Read the full story →
10Choco-Story Chocolate MuseumFinish
Choco-Story is a museum about the history of chocolate, from the cocoa drinks of the Maya and Aztecs to the Belgian praline. Belgium's chocolate fame owes much to the praline, created in Brussels by Jean Neuhaus in 1912, and Bruges has many chocolate shops along its streets.
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Netherlands –
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Leuke manier om de stad te verkennen. Zo kom je op alle mooie plaatsen.
Germany –
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Netherlands –
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Zeer leuke en mooie tocht. Niet te moeilijk, maar soms wel even nadenken. Erg goed in elkaar gezet.
Belgium –
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Heel originele manier om Brugge te leren kennen.
France –
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Excellente idée pour découvrir la ville de Bruges autrement. Très bon moment passé en famille. Les indices peuvent parfois se révéler très utiles .
Netherlands –
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Leuke speurtocht! Je ziet veel van de stad. Sommige opdrachten waren best lastig en had je echt de hints nodig om er uit te komen. Wel leuk om op deze manier de stad te verkennen .
Belgium –
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Leuke app, sommige vragen waren niet zo duidelijk. De kantel functie werkte niet. Maar leuke app om Brugge te verkennen!
Germany –
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Super Tour durch Brügge.
Netherlands –
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Redelijk te doen
Netherlands –
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Opdracht is niet duidelijk beschreven, dus je moet wel wat zoeken om te weten wat de opdracht juist is. Voor de rest hele leuke activiteit!
Switzerland –
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United Kingdom –
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Excellent way to explore the city !
Belgium –
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Netherlands –
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Een leuke zoektocht die je tot bij een paar mooie plekjes brengt. Initieel wel wat verwarring… na bestelling krijg je een paar mails van ‘GetYourGuide’ met links naar een app, alsook naar een voucher horende bij dit spel etc… Geen van deze zaken heb je echter nodig om het spel te kunnen spelen. Je krijgt uiteindelijk ook een link doorgestuurd via SMS, die je naar een website leidt (geen app dus!), waar je het spel kan spelen. De informatie van ‘GetYourGuide’ is vermoedelijk gericht op fysieke tours met een gids, en dus niet afgestemd op dit spel. Tevens: de teksten in het spel zijn niet altijd correct qua zinsbouw, en sommige opdrachten tonen dat de makers van origine Engelstalig zijn; da”s dus zeker iets om rekening mee te houden als je een woord a/h zoeken bent. Duurtijd: ca 1u45 min kuieren
France –
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Les énigmes sont bien choisies. Mais les commentaires sur la ville, l’histoire, les monuments sont médiocres: qui s’intéresse aux frites de Bruges! De plus les énigmes ne suivent pas un parcours touristique logique.
Germany –
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Es war nicht unsere erstes digitales Stadtspiel, einfach nicht gut umgesetzt. Trotzdem natürlich sehr schöne Stadt.
France –
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United Kingdom –
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A unique way to explore the city . We discovered new places and hidden gems! We designed riddles
Germany –
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France –
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United Kingdom –
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Great way to explore this beautiful city!
United Kingdom –
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Very Nice
United Kingdom –
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This was a great way to visit some of the sites and have a bit of fun on the way. We didn’t plan on completing all the activities and wanted to use it to fill in a couple of gaps throughout the day – it did this perfectly. We did find a couple of the clues were a little obscure and could have done with some instruction on what we were supposed to do – having said that, there are hints you can use to the point of giving the answer. There was also some interesting information given for the areas/ monuments you were visiting. Overall, if you don’t want to take it too seriously and want to see the sites, I thought it was value for money as we did visit a couple of places that weren’t on our original agenda and found them really interesting.
Slovenia –
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Netherlands –
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Super leuke manier om Brugge te verkennen
United Kingdom –
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This was our first experience with a puzzle like this. We sure would like to do another one.
Netherlands –
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leuk
Germany –
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Netherlands –
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Start zeer moeilijk. Vertrekplaats niemand aanwezig voor enige hulp. Vragen waren moeilijk vooral met een groep met kinderen. Telefonisch proberen iemand te bereiken. Opgegeven nummer was nummer in Zwitserland. Totaal niet gebruiksvriendelijk. Internet viel dan ook nog regelmatig weg. Niet voor herhaling vatbaar. Duur voor wat je maar in de plaats krijgt.
Greece –
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Very very nice way to explore this beautiful city!
Netherlands –
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Netherlands –
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Super leuk dit! Niet te ingewikkelde vragen. Maar vooral leuk dat je lekker op je eigen gemak door de stad kunt lopen. Er zijn overal leuke stops waar je lekker wat kun eten en drinken. Leuke weetjes en verhalen. Veel beter dat een tourgide.
United Kingdom –
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Switzerland –
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It’s a lot fun! It all worked out super smoothly with the app. One can have a tour of the city while enjoying a challenging game. Definitely recommended!
Germany –
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Greece –
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Belgium –
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United Kingdom –
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Super! Such a nice way to explore Brugge! The riddles were well designed and easy to solve. Some of them slightly tougher, but hints helped. So many info about the city! Definitely we will do it again !
Belgium –
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Germany –
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Italy –
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Ireland –
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Netherlands –
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Switzerland –
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A really nice way to explore Bruges ! The app is very nice and the login very easy. We walked through some beautiful places of the city and the walk was amazing ! The riddles were of a mixed difficulty, most of them easy , one was a bit hard but with the use of hints we didn’t have any problem. Also the info about the city and the attractions were many and very interesting . Definitely recommended and we will do it again for sure !
Belgium –
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jan –
We betaalden 25 euro voor 5 personen. We vonden deze activiteit echt waar voor je geld want we hebben een geweldige wandeling door Brugge gemaakt en dat deden we op een andere manier. Het oplossen van de raadsels aan de hand van de bezienswaardigheden was een erg leuk idee en we hebben er helemaal van genoten. Sommige raadsels waren best moeilijk, maar we hebben de hints gebruikt en alles is goed gekomen. Uiteindelijk hebben we maximaal genoten van deze activiteit. Raadsels, wandeling en informatie, alles in één!
France –
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U.S –
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United States –
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Great! Fun way to explore the city.
Germany –
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10 Aufgaben, dadurch gibt es eine vorgegebene Route durch die Stadt. Das ist super praktisch. Rätsel sind lösbar, die Informationen sind gut. Alles etwas oberflächlich-aber genau passend für einen Tagesausflug!