What is the Coimbra outdoor escape game?
The Coimbra outdoor escape game turns the escape room into a walk through the old university city: you play on your smartphone, and each of the 10 spots holds a puzzle that you solve by looking carefully at the surroundings and reasoning it through. The route runs 2.2 km, takes around 2 hours in total and includes 27 minutes on foot.
Puzzles sit at Santa Cruz, the Barbican Gate, the Old Cathedral, the university and the Minerva Stairs, among other spots. Each puzzle stands alone, so no storyline is needed, and three levels of hints are available. Because the route rises from the lower town to the hill, expect slopes and stairs, with the valley opening up below as you climb.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 27 min · 2.2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese
What you do on the escape game
Solve
Crack the puzzle at each spot by observing what is around you and thinking it through. No prior knowledge of Coimbra is needed.
Notice the stone
Clues sit in the carved stone of churches, walls and university buildings, so look at the detail rather than the crowd.
Walk
Follow Google Maps uphill and down: about 27 minutes on foot over 2.2 km, with slopes and stairs.
Take your time
There is no countdown. Use hints when you need them, stop for a coffee on a square and carry on later or 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.
Who it suits
Friends on a day out
Each puzzle gives the group something new to debate, and nobody needs to know the city beforehand.
Couples
A shared challenge that keeps you talking as you climb the stairs together, with no clock ticking away.
Team building
Teams of up to 5 play on their own phones, so colleagues can share the puzzles or solve them side by side.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- Best started in daylight, so you can see the details the puzzles ask about.
- 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.
Puzzle route: from Santa Cruz up to the Botanical Garden
10 stops · about 27 min walking · start: Church of Santa Cruz · finish: Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra
The first puzzle waits at the Church of Santa Cruz in the lower town, the last at the Botanical Garden of the university. On the way you cross Praça do Comércio, pass the Arco de Almedina into the upper town, then reach the Old Cathedral, the Machado de Castro museum, the New Cathedral and the university. The Minerva Stairs and Praça Dom Dinis come next before the finish. Start in daylight, because the puzzles are solved outdoors and rain slows everything. Google Maps leads the walk, you can reorder spots in the app, and no entry tickets are needed.
Open the route map ↗
1Church of Santa CruzStart
The Monastery of Santa Cruz was founded in 1131 by Augustinian canons, and its church holds the tombs of Portugal's first two kings, Afonso Henriques and Sancho I. The richly carved façade was remodelled in the Manueline style in the early 16th century.
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2Praça do Comércio
This sloping square in the lower town was Coimbra's main market place for centuries. At one end stands the Romanesque Church of São Tiago from the 12th century, and the square is lined with tall merchant houses with shops on the ground floor.
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3Arco de Almedina
The Arco de Almedina is the main gate in the medieval walls that once enclosed the upper town, and its name comes from the Arabic word medina, meaning city. A tower rises above the arch, and a barbican once protected the entrance from attackers.
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4Old Cathedral (Sé Velha)
Coimbra's Old Cathedral is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Portugal, begun in the 12th century under the first king, Afonso Henriques. Its crenellated walls make it look like a fortress, while the Porta Especiosa on its side is an early Renaissance doorway.
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5National Museum Machado de Castro
The museum occupies the former bishops' palace and is named after the sculptor Joaquim Machado de Castro, born in Coimbra in the 18th century. Beneath it lies the Roman cryptoporticus, vaulted galleries that supported the forum of Aeminium, as Coimbra was called in Roman times.
6New Cathedral (Sé Nova)
The New Cathedral was built from 1598 as the church of the Jesuit college. After the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal in 1759, it became Coimbra's cathedral in 1772, replacing the Sé Velha further down the hill.
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7University of Coimbra
Founded in 1290 by King Dinis, the University of Coimbra is one of the oldest universities in Europe and settled for good in Coimbra in 1537. Its historic buildings around the Paço das Escolas, with the Joanina Library and the clock tower, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.
8Minerva Stairs
These stone stairs in the university quarter take their name from Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and the symbol of the University of Coimbra. They connect the steep streets of the upper town, where students have lived and studied for centuries.
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9Praça Dom Dinis
This square near the top of the hill is named after King Dinis, who founded the university in 1290, and a statue of the king stands here. From the square the wide Monumental Stairs lead down the hill, and the Porta Férrea, the 17th-century main gate of the old university, is a short walk away.
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10Botanical Garden of the University of CoimbraFinish
The Botanical Garden was created in 1772 as part of the Marquis of Pombal's reform of the university. Its terraces hold plants from around the world, and the 16th-century São Sebastião Aqueduct runs along its edge.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ganz ok. Hat uns zu orten geführt, die wir noch nicht fanden. Die Mittel-gute Übersetzung hat ab und an genervt, die Kundenbetreuung hat sehr gut funktioniert
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Excellent way to explore the city and the key sights. We had such a wonderfall time, will be attended to other cities too.