Coimbra scavenger hunt
Founded in the eighteenth century by the Marquis of Pombal, the Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra is a lush terraced haven of rare subtropical plants, historic iron greenhouses, and shaded neoclassical promenades.
The National Museum Machado de Castro is a majestic cultural landmark where a grand collection of ancient Roman cryptoporticus ruins and sacred art masterpieces create a monumental treasure trove of Coimbra's heritage.
Dating back to the twelfth century, the Catedral Vieja de Coímbra—or Sé Velha—stands as one of Portugal’s finest Romanesque cathedral-fortresses, marked by its crenellated walls and austere medieval beauty.
The New Cathedral of Coimbra is a majestic Mannerist and Baroque landmark where a grand stone facade and an ornate golden main altarpiece create a monumental spiritual masterpiece in the historic heart of the city.
The University of Coimbra is a majestic academic landmark where a grand Baroque library and a historic hilltop courtyard create a monumental beacon of knowledge overlooking the Mondego River.
Coimbra scavenger hunt
Founded in the eighteenth century by the Marquis of Pombal, the Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra is a lush terraced haven of rare subtropical plants, historic iron greenhouses, and shaded neoclassical promenades.
The National Museum Machado de Castro is a majestic cultural landmark where a grand collection of ancient Roman cryptoporticus ruins and sacred art masterpieces create a monumental treasure trove of Coimbra's heritage.
Dating back to the twelfth century, the Catedral Vieja de Coímbra—or Sé Velha—stands as one of Portugal’s finest Romanesque cathedral-fortresses, marked by its crenellated walls and austere medieval beauty.
The New Cathedral of Coimbra is a majestic Mannerist and Baroque landmark where a grand stone facade and an ornate golden main altarpiece create a monumental spiritual masterpiece in the historic heart of the city.
The University of Coimbra is a majestic academic landmark where a grand Baroque library and a historic hilltop courtyard create a monumental beacon of knowledge overlooking the Mondego River.

Coimbra Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

Rated 4.73 out of 5 based on 41 customer ratings
(41 customer reviews)

Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
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Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Coimbra on your phone: hand-picked places, each with why to go, what to order and a practical tip.

  • Tick places off
  • Your own notes
  • One tap to Maps
  • Open now, near me
  • Works offline
  • Print it or save as PDF
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved by thousands of travelers and locals

  • No time limit – use your ticket whenever you want
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Included: your personal Trail Map with every city you finish, the kilometres you walk and your flag collection. See an example →

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Everything you need for a flexible self-guided city experience

Explore the city at your own pace

✔ Discover hidden gems & highlights
✔ Enjoy a flexible self-guided experience
✔ Explore freely with no schedule
✔ Perfect for couples, students, companies, friends & families

How your city experience works

✔ Instant ticket purchase
✔ Easy access via the World City Trail app
✔ Quick setup with your booking details
✔ Start anytime and explore freely
✔ Pause and resume anytime

Why travelers choose this tour

✔ Instant access after purchase
✔ Optional AI voice narration — listen instead of read
✔ Discover top attractions & food spots
✔ Customize your route anytime

A scavenger hunt up Coimbra's hill, from the first kings' tombs to the university

The Coimbra 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. Climbing from the Baixa to the top of the university hill takes about 37 minutes of walking over 2.2 km and 10 stops, and with riddles and stories the game fills around 2 hours, with plenty of pauses to get your breath back.

Highlights include the Church of Santa Cruz with the tombs of Portugal's first kings, the Arco de Almedina, the fortress-like Sé Velha, the Roman galleries under the Machado de Castro museum and the historic University of Coimbra. The route climbs from the lower town to the top of the hill, so expect some slopes and stairs, rewarded by views over the river Mondego.

  • Durationabout 2 hours
  • Walkingabout 37 min · 2.2 km
  • Stops10
  • LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese

Riddles from the Baixa to the Paço das Escolas

Manueline stone, battlements and a goddess

One riddle sits at each stop, and its answer is carved, painted or built into what you see: the Manueline façade of Santa Cruz, the crenellated walls of the Sé Velha, the goddess Minerva who gives a stairway its name. Look carefully and think it through, with no Portuguese needed.

Kings, Romans and Jesuits

Every answer opens a story: Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, buried in Santa Cruz, the Roman town of Aeminium whose vaulted galleries survive beneath the Machado de Castro museum, and the Jesuits whose college church became the Sé Nova after their expulsion. Prefer listening? The audio narration tells each one.

Uphill all the way

The 2.2 km route runs almost entirely uphill, from the riverside lower town through the Arco de Almedina into the Alta and up to the university, so the 37 minutes of walking feel longer. Google Maps finds the shortest way through the steep lanes, and the view over the Mondego from the top makes the effort worthwhile.

A breather in the Botanical Garden

The final stop is the university's Botanical Garden, a calm place to sit under old trees once the climb is over. You can also stop for coffee halfway and resume another time, as nothing in the game runs on a clock.

See the route and attractions →

How it works

  1. Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
  2. Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
  3. Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.

Who will enjoy the Coimbra scavenger hunt

Visitors on the Lisbon–Porto line

Coimbra lies between Portugal's two largest cities, and many travellers stop for a day. The hunt links the lower town, both cathedrals and the university in about 2 hours, leaving time for lunch in the Baixa.

Students past and present

One of the oldest universities in Europe makes a fine setting for a game of wits, and the riddles lead past the Porta Férrea, the Minerva Stairs and the statue of King Dinis, who founded it in 1290.

Fit families and teams

Children like the Roman galleries under the museum and the fortress-like Sé Velha, as long as an adult plays with them and everyone is happy to climb. Teams of up to 5 can race uphill, each player using their own phone.

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: Santa Cruz, the Baixa, the Arco de Almedina, the Alta and the Botanical Garden

10 stops · about 37 min walking · start: Church of Santa Cruz · finish: Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra

The hunt begins in the Baixa at the Church of Santa Cruz and crosses Praça do Comércio before passing through the Arco de Almedina into the upper town. You climb past the Sé Velha, the National Museum Machado de Castro and the Sé Nova to the University of Coimbra, take the Minerva Stairs to Praça Dom Dinis and finish at the Botanical Garden. The museum, the cathedrals and the university keep their clues on walls, gates and stairways, so no stop on the hunt calls for an admission ticket, and if your room is up in the Alta, the app can begin at the Sé Nova and reorder the descent and the climb to suit you.

Open the route map ↗

  1. Church of Santa Cruz

    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.

    Read the full story →

  2. Praça do Comércio

    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.

    Read the full story →

  3. Arco de Almedina

    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.

    Read the full story →

  4. Old Cathedral (Sé Velha)

    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.

    Read the full story →

  5. National Museum Machado de Castro

    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.

  6. New Cathedral (Sé Nova)

    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.

    Read the full story →

  7. University of Coimbra

    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.

  8. Minerva Stairs

    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.

    Read the full story →

  9. Praça Dom Dinis

    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.

    Read the full story →

  10. Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra

    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.

41 reviews for Coimbra Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

  1. Rated 5 out of 5

    Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  2. Rated 5 out of 5

    France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Aide à visiter la ville de manière différente et hyper ludique. Nous avons passé un excellent moment ! A améliorer : les explications concernant les lieux devraient être lues.

  3. Rated 4 out of 5

    Spain –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  4. Rated 5 out of 5

    Mélissa– France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Super activité idéale pour découvrir la ville en un jour. Attention cependant à bien commencer par le début sinon vous risquez de monter et descendre régulièrement.

  5. Rated 5 out of 5

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    Yvonne– Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Es lag alles fussläufig gut erreichbar und nicht zu kompliziert

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Frequently asked questions

Is two hours enough for the Coimbra hunt with all the climbing?

Yes, around 2 hours is the usual time, with about 37 minutes of actual walking over 2.2 km and 10 stops. Because most of the route goes uphill, allow a little extra if you like to stop for the views or for a coffee in the Alta.

Where in Coimbra does the hunt begin, and does it end at the top?

It begins at the Church of Santa Cruz in the Baixa, the lower town, and ends at the Botanical Garden of the University, close to the São Sebastião Aqueduct. If you are staying up in the Alta, the app lets you begin at a stop near your accommodation instead.

Is there a fixed start time outside the Church of Santa Cruz?

Nobody sets one for you, and you will not find a guide waiting by the church door. You book a ticket for each player, receive the reference by email, enter it in the World City Trail app and begin when you are ready, on whatever day suits you.

Which of Coimbra's sights on the route are paid visits?

The historic university, including the Joanina Library, and the Machado de Castro museum with its Roman cryptoporticus are visited with their own tickets. The scavenger hunt needs neither, since all its riddles are solved outdoors.

Can children manage the Coimbra hunt?

Older children usually enjoy it, with an adult in the team: Roman tunnels under a museum, a cathedral that looks like a castle and a goddess on a stairway give them plenty to look for. Be aware that the route climbs steeply and includes long flights of steps, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs and very hard with a pushchair.

Can the Coimbra riddles be played in Portuguese?

Yes, Portuguese is one of seven languages, alongside English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. Each player picks one in the app, so a Portuguese host and foreign guests can solve the same riddles side by side.

Would the Coimbra hunt work for a university group or a company outing?

Very well. Buy a ticket per person, split into teams of five or fewer and send them uphill from Santa Cruz at intervals of a few minutes; the Botanical Garden at the end has room for everyone to compare results. You do not need to reserve anything else.

What do we need for the steep streets of Coimbra?

Comfortable shoes with good soles for the steps and sloping cobbles, water on warm days and one charged phone with mobile data per team, plus a power bank. Earphones help you catch the narration in the busy lanes of the Baixa.

Start your climb at Santa Cruz

Book online with one ticket per player, and the reference arrives in your inbox moments later. On the day you pick, go to the Church of Santa Cruz in the Baixa, enter the reference in the World City Trail app and begin with the first riddle below the hill.

Book your tickets →

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