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.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Netherlands –
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App werkt wel maar vergt enig uitzoekwerk hoe de knoppen allemaal werken
Netherlands –
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Heel leuk!
Italy –
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Netherlands –
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Mooie tour door de binnenstad en erg leuk voor kinderen!
France –
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Activité sympa et pas trop longues quelques anecdotes à découvrir
Netherlands –
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Leuke wijze om Brugge met kinderen te verkennen.
France –
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J ai pris cette appli en espérant que les enfants soient intéressés par le jeu. Mais dès le début, le parcours nous demande de retourner sur nos pas entre deux énigmes. Cela ne nous a pas encouragé à continuer.
Germany –
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Eine sehr kurzweilige und gut durchdachte Schnitzeljagd, die jedoch 1-2 kleine Fehler aufweist. Sind diese behoben ist es wirklich eine tolle Sache auf diese Weise eine Stadt kennenzulernen. Uns hat es sehr viel Spaß gemacht.
United Kingdom –
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Really good, interesting and interactive way of visiting the city. Certainly kept my 10 year old daughter engaged by being in charge of the app.
Inge – Netherlands –
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Geweldig leuke manier om Brugge te verkennen, en plekken te zien waar je anders niet was geweest!
Netherlands –
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Leuk om al puzzelend Brugge te doorwandelen. Met iedere keer een stukje informatie. De vragen waren niet moeilijk. Wij vonden het leuker om samen te lopen, dan heb je eigenlijk maar 1 ticket nodig.
italy –
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Un nuovo modo di visitare una città. Molto divertente!!
Netherlands –
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Mooie wandeling langs allerlei highlights in Brugge met leuke, niet al te moeilijke raadsels. Je bent niet aan tijd gebonden en kunt tussendoor van de route afwijken of lekker een terrasje pakken. Een aanrader!
Germany –
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Netherlands –
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Was een leuke manier op de stad te leren kennen
Germany –
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Netherlands –
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Leuke wandeltocht en veel gezien. Leuk om op deze manier de stad te verkennen en opdrachten op te lossen.
Germany –
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Wir hatten viel Spaß und vor allem die Kinder fanden es spannend.
Germany –
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Kann man mal machen. Simpel in der Bedienung. Rätsel könnten etwas anspruchsvoller sein. Aber ansonsten nur zu empfehlen.
Spain –
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France –
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Activité sympa qui permet de voir tous les endroits de Bruges et d’avoir un peu d’histoire/connaissances en plus. L’activité reste cependant très cher au vu de l’application et des informations.
France –
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Je recommande cette activité qui permet de visiter les lieux phares de la ville de Bruges de façon ludique!
Netherlands –
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puzzles could stand to be harder but still a lot of fun!
France –
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Super expérience, un peu plus long serait encore mieux.
United Kingdom –
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This was a really great, fun and interactive experience. My boyfriend and I enjoyed ourselves and took photos at each destination to remind us of the journey. We completed this in less than an hour (we are fast walkers!)
Germany –
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Toll für Kinder ab ca. 10 Jahren war
Germany –
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Belgium –
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In het begin was het wat zoeken hoe de app werkte, maar daarna ging het beter.
Germany –
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Wir wurden an wunderschöne Plätze geführt, die wir sonst nicht gesehen haben. Die Rätsel hätten etwas anspruchsvoller sein können (wir haben schon jugendliche Kinder) und wir hätten uns noch mehr Informationen zu den besuchten Plätzen gewünscht.
Netherlands –
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Als je naar Brugge gaat is die echt een aanrader. Je leert de stad zo veel beter kennen en je komt op plekken waar je zelf anders nooit zou komen. Wij hebben er de hele middag over gedaan. Je kan op veel plekken binnen een kijkje nemen, doe dat ook het is zo mooi. Tussen door hebben wij heerlijk geluncht, ergens wat gedronken en natuurlijk ook een boottochtje gemaakt. Wij hebben er een fantastische door gehad!!
Germany –
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Man bekommt einen Überblick über die Altstadt von Brügge. Es gibt kein vorgegebenes Tempo, so dass man Unterbrechungen (z.B. Museumsbesuch) individuell einlegen kann.
Germany –
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Gute Tour die man individuell unterbrechen kann um zB ins Museum zu gehen.
Germany –
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Wir haben das erste mal solche eine Schnitzeljagd mitgemacht. Wir waren begeistert, haben auch 90 von 100 Punkten bekommen. Bei der ersten Aufgabe benötigten wir eine Hilfe. Dadurch sind wir aber hinter die Philosophie des Spiels gekommen. Also die Hersteller haben sich tolle Aufgaben ausgedacht.
Germany –
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Hat großen Spaß gemacht
Netherlands –
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Leuk spel om de stad te ontdekken
Netherlands –
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United Kingdom –
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Excellent little guide of Bruges! Easy to follow fun to have the games and nice to get the bits of information on all the key sights. We had an excellent time.
France –
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Une fois connectés, nous avons réellement apprécié le concept. A notre rythme, visite et promenade… superbes!
Germany –
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War eine nett Tour und wir haben tatsächlich noch ein paar nette Museen und Orte gefunden. Die Grafik ist verbesserungswürdig,aber sonst eine nette Idee und eine gute Tour.
Netherlands –
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Ontzettend leuke manier om de stad beter te leren kennen!
France –
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Activité très ludique, qui permet de bien découvrir la ville et d’apprendre plein de choses. Enigme pas trop difficile qui permet de faire participer les enfants
Sweden –
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Fun way to move around the city and see the main attractions in a short time.
Germany –
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Wir haben die Stadtführung mit unserer Tocher und ein paar Freunden gemacht, so dass wir mit 4 Handys angemeldet waren. Es hat alles super geklappt und wir hatten alle Spaß. Das Ganze ist echt weiter zu empfehlen.
Netherlands –
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Alle hoogtepunten in een beknopte afstand. App wilde het niet gelijk doen. Met 1 mail werd ik gelijk geholpen. Super
Netherlands –
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Het was super gezellig en leuk. Ik zou het zo weer een keer doen in een andere stad als dit mogelijk is.
Australia –
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France –
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Excellent moment ludique et pédagogique
France –
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Parfait moyen pour decouvrir la ville. Ca motive les enfants
Germany –
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Man läuft ein bisschen zu sehr hin und her – mehr im Kreis wäre besser
Germany –
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Jeu sympa qui permet de visiter la ville de façon ludique mais les rues empruntées sont un peu répétitives. Les énigmes restent assez simples à résoudre. Nous avons passé un bon moment.