How does the Copenhagen scavenger hunt play?
The Copenhagen 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. It takes about 3 hours, with around 48 minutes of actual walking over a little under 4 km between 10 stops, and you start whenever you like.
Highlights include City Hall, the Round Tower with its spiral ramp, the car-free Strøget, Christiansborg Palace, the colourful houses of Nyhavn, the royal palaces of Amalienborg and the Marble Church. The centre is flat and compact, and the route links old streets, canals and royal squares on foot.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 48 min · 3.9 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
A game of towers, canals and palaces
Look up, then look closer
Each of the 10 stops sets one riddle, and you solve it by studying what stands in front of you: a gilded figure above a balcony, a pair of statues outside a theatre, a number on a house by the canal. Logic does the rest, and nobody expects you to know Danish history.
The tale behind the answer
A solved riddle unlocks the story of the stop: the spiral ramp that Tsar Peter the Great is said to have ridden up on horseback, the British bombardment of 1807 that left the city without its cathedral, the Norwegian marble that grew too expensive and left a church unfinished for more than a century. Switch on the audio narration to hear it as you go.
Level streets, short hops
Google Maps guides you over 3.9 km, and only about 48 minutes of the game is spent walking. The centre stays level from City Hall Square to the harbour, and part of the way runs along Strøget, closed to cars since 1962.
Coffee by the canal
No timer runs. Sit down for a coffee or a smørrebrød in Nyhavn, carry on in the evening or another day, and open the game at a different stop in the app if you are staying near Kongens Nytorv.
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 the Copenhagen hunt suits
First day in Copenhagen
Between City Hall and the Marble Church the hunt takes in the old town, Slotsholmen, Nyhavn and Amalienborg in a single afternoon. You come away with the stories behind façades that many visitors only see from a canal boat.
Families
The riddles send children looking for things they can really see: a bishop high on a façade, two playwrights cast in bronze, a king on horseback in the middle of a square. An adult needs to be part of the team, and nothing has to be rushed.
Friends and work teams
Up to 5 players make one team, each on their own phone, and several teams can play the same route and meet at the Marble Church afterwards. The game uses public streets and squares only, so nothing has to be reserved.
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 City Hall Square over Slotsholmen and along Nyhavn to the Marble Church
10 stops · about 48 min walking · start: Copenhagen City Hall (Rådhuset) · finish: Frederik's Church (Marble Church)
The hunt starts at City Hall on City Hall Square and leads through the old town to the Church of Our Lady and the Round Tower, then along Strøget. It crosses to Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen, continues to the Royal Danish Theatre on Kongens Nytorv, along Nyhavn and over the Nyhavn Bridge, and passes Amalienborg Palace before it finishes at Frederik's Church, the Marble Church. There is no admission to pay at any of the ten stops, because the riddles never take you indoors, and if Nyhavn or Amalienborg is closer to your hotel, the app will start you there and let you set the order yourself.
Open the route map ↗
1Copenhagen City Hall (Rådhuset)Start
Copenhagen City Hall was designed by Martin Nyrop and inaugurated in 1905, and its tower rises 105.6 metres above City Hall Square. Look up at the main façade: above the balcony stands a gilded statue of Bishop Absalon, traditionally regarded as the founder of Copenhagen.
2Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen Cathedral)
The cathedral burned down when a British fleet bombarded Copenhagen in 1807, and Christian Frederik Hansen rebuilt it in Neoclassical style; it was consecrated in 1829. Inside stand Bertel Thorvaldsen's marble statues of Christ and the apostles, and in 2004 the then Crown Prince Frederik married Mary Donaldson here.
3Round Tower (Rundetaarn)
King Christian IV had the Round Tower built in 1637–1642 as an astronomical observatory. Instead of stairs, a spiral ramp winds seven and a half turns up to a platform 34.8 metres above the street, and according to the story Tsar Peter the Great rode up it on horseback in 1716.
Read the full story →
4Strøget
Strøget is a chain of old streets that runs for about 1.1 km from City Hall Square to Kongens Nytorv. It was closed to cars in 1962, making it one of the first and longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe, and along the way it opens onto squares such as Amagertorv with its Stork Fountain.
5Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg on the island of Slotsholmen houses the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office and the Supreme Court, and the monarch uses its Royal Reception Rooms. The present palace, the third on the site, was finished in 1928 to designs by Thorvald Jørgensen, and beneath it lie the ruins of the castle Bishop Absalon built in 1167.
6Royal Danish Theatre (Det Kongelige Teater)
The Royal Danish Theatre was founded in 1748, and its Old Stage on Kongens Nytorv, designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup with Ove Petersen, opened in 1874. In front of the building sit bronze statues of the playwrights Ludvig Holberg and Adam Oehlenschläger.
7Nyhavn
King Christian V had the Nyhavn canal dug in 1670–1675, partly by Swedish prisoners of war, as a gateway from the sea to Kongens Nytorv. Its row of colourful houses includes number 9 from 1681, the oldest on the quay, and Hans Christian Andersen lived at number 67 and later at number 18.
Read the full story →
8Nyhavn Bridge (Nyhavnsbroen)
Nyhavnsbroen carries the street across the Nyhavn canal and links its two quays. From the bridge you get the classic view along the canal, with old wooden sailing ships moored below and colourful gabled houses on both sides, and on the far side the streets lead north towards Amalienborg.
Read the full story →
9Amalienborg Palace
Amalienborg is made up of four almost identical Rococo palaces around an octagonal square, designed by Nicolai Eigtved and built in 1750–1760 as mansions for noble families. The royal family moved in after Christiansborg burned in 1794, and in the centre stands Jacques Saly's equestrian statue of Frederik V, unveiled in 1771.
10Frederik's Church (Marble Church)Finish
King Frederik V laid the foundation stone of the Marble Church in 1749, but work stopped in 1770 because the Norwegian marble was too expensive. The ruin stood for more than a century until the financier Carl Frederik Tietgen backed its completion by Ferdinand Meldahl, and it was consecrated in 1894 under a dome 31 metres across.
Read the full story →
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karine Cholier (verified owner) –
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nette Tour vor allem für Familien
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Excellent route through Copenhagen’s best attraction! Will do in other cities soon!
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
<3<3
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
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Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ursula– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Friederike– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
von A bis Z ein wunderbares Erlebnis. So hätte uch Koownhagen nue alleine gesehen und erkunden können.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Man kam an fast allen tollen Sehenswürdigkeiten vorbei und bekam ausreichend Informationen angezeigt. Hätte man auf eigene Faust wahrscheinlich so nicht gefunden. Es wäre noch super gewesen, wenn die Öffnungszeiten der Gebäude mitangegeben wären, als kleiner Tipp. Der Vorteil gegenüber einee Führung ist, dass man jederzeit unterbrechen kann, um sich ein Gebäude oder einen Platz näher anzuschauen!
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ute– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Rätsel waren sehr abwechslungsreich und durch die Knobelpausen wurden auch die Informationen nie zu viel. Insgesamt gut dosierte Wissensvermittlung und sehr sehenswerte Orte.