A riddle trail through baroque Dresden, from the Zwinger to the lemon squeezer
The Dresden 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. Palaces, churches and the terrace above the Elbe stand so close together that the 10 stops need just 24 minutes on foot over 2 km, leaving most of the roughly 2 hours for riddles and the stories of Augustus the Strong's city, from whatever hour you pick.
Highlights include the baroque Zwinger, the Semperoper on Theaterplatz, the Hofkirche, the porcelain Fürstenzug mural, the rebuilt Frauenkirche on the Neumarkt and the glass dome of the Academy of Fine Arts. Dresden's old town is compact and flat, so short walks link palaces, churches and the terrace above the Elbe.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 24 min · 2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish
What you work out between the Zwinger and Brühl's Terrace
A crown, a panther team and 35 riders
Each riddle points at something you can see from the street: the gilded Polish crown on the Zwinger's Crown Gate, the panther-drawn chariot above the Semperoper entrance, the long parade of Saxon rulers on the Fürstenzug. Look, compare and count, and the answer follows.
Porcelain, a heart in a crypt and a Stone Bell
Every solved riddle opens a chapter of Dresden: the mural moved onto some 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles, the urn with Augustus the Strong's heart beneath the Hofkirche, and the Frauenkirche dome that fell in 1945 and rose again by 2005. Hands full with a map or a coffee? Let the audio narration carry the story instead.
Two flat kilometres along the Elbe
Google Maps takes you through only 24 minutes of walking, from the Zwinger courtyard past Theaterplatz and the Neumarkt up onto Brühl's Terrace. The old town is level, so the effort goes into thinking rather than climbing.
Coffee and cake on the Neumarkt
Nothing is timed, so you can sit down for coffee and cake among the rebuilt houses of the Neumarkt and pick up the game afterwards. If the day runs out, the next riddle is still there tomorrow.
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 Dresden's riddles are made for
Day-trippers from Prague or Berlin
With only a day in Dresden, you want the Zwinger, the Semperoper, the Frauenkirche and the Elbe views in one go. The game strings them together in about 2 hours and leaves time for a museum.
Children who count horses and spot crowns
A wall of 35 riders, a chariot pulled by panthers, a crown on a gate and a glass dome nicknamed the lemon squeezer make for easy wins. A parent or teacher joins each young team as a full player.
Groups who finish above the river
Teams of up to 5, every player on their own phone, leave the Zwinger a few minutes apart and meet again on Brühl's Terrace, with the Elbe below. It works for colleagues, classes and families alike.
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: Zwinger, Theaterplatz, the Fürstenzug, the Neumarkt and Brühl's Terrace
10 stops · about 24 min walking · start: Zwinger · finish: Academy of Fine Arts
The hunt starts at the Zwinger and continues to Dresden Castle, the Semperoper and the Hofkirche around Theaterplatz. Along Augustusstraße you pass the Fürstenzug and reach the Transport Museum in the Johanneum, then the Neumarkt and the Frauenkirche. The last part leads onto Brühl's Terrace to the Albertinum and finishes at the Academy of Fine Arts. The Green Vault, the picture galleries and the opera stay outside the game, which reads all its answers from façades and statues and needs no entry ticket, and the app will happily start you at the Frauenkirche instead of the Zwinger and rearrange the stops that follow.
Open the route map ↗
1ZwingerStart
Augustus the Strong had the Zwinger built between 1710 and 1728 as a baroque festival ground, designed by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann with sculptures by Balthasar Permoser. Look for the Crown Gate, topped by a gilded Polish crown. Today it houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery with Raphael's Sistine Madonna.
2Dresden Castle
From the late 15th century until 1918 the Residenzschloss was the seat of the Saxon electors and kings. Burnt out in the bombing of 1945, it has been rebuilt in stages since the late 20th century. Today it holds the treasures of the Green Vault and other state collections.
3Semperoper
The opera house is named after the architect Gottfried Semper. His first theatre on this square burned down in 1869, and the second one, completed in 1878, was destroyed in 1945 and reopened in 1985. Look up at the bronze panther quadriga with Dionysus and Ariadne above the entrance.
4Hofkirche (Dresden Cathedral)
The Catholic court church was built between 1739 and 1755 to plans by the Italian architect Gaetano Chiaveri, after Saxony's rulers had converted to Catholicism. Seventy-eight statues of saints line its balustrades, and it has been the cathedral of the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen since 1980. Augustus the Strong's heart is kept in its crypt.
5Fürstenzug
This 102-metre mural on the outer wall of the castle's Stallhof shows a procession of 35 rulers of the House of Wettin on horseback. Wilhelm Walther first painted it in sgraffito in the 1870s, and between 1904 and 1907 it was transferred onto about 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles, which survived the bombing of 1945 almost undamaged.
Read the full story →
6Transport Museum (Johanneum)
The Dresden Transport Museum is housed in the Johanneum, built in the late 16th century as the electors' stables and later named after King John of Saxony. Its collections cover railways, trams, cars, bicycles, ships and aircraft.
7Neumarkt
Until the bombing of February 1945 this square around the Frauenkirche was lined with baroque burghers' houses. Since the early 2000s many of their façades have been reconstructed in their historic form. In front of the church stands a bronze statue of Martin Luther from 1885.
8Frauenkirche
George Bähr built this Lutheran church between 1726 and 1743, crowned by a massive stone dome known as the Stone Bell. It collapsed two days after the bombing of February 1945, remained a ruin for decades and was rebuilt from 1994 to 2005 with many original stones, visible as dark patches in the walls.
9Albertinum
The building began as the electors' arsenal in the 16th century and was converted into a museum in the 1880s, named after King Albert of Saxony. It houses the New Masters Gallery, with paintings from Romanticism to the present including works by Caspar David Friedrich, and the Sculpture Collection.
10Academy of Fine ArtsFinish
The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, founded in 1764, has its main building on Brühl's Terrace, completed in the 1890s to designs by Constantin Lipsius. Its ribbed glass dome, crowned by a golden figure of Fame, is nicknamed the lemon squeezer by locals.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Kathleen Dau (verified owner) –
Tobias S. (verified owner) –
It was the third scavenger hunt we did and it was another entertaining experience. The puzzles are, overall, not too difficult, but provide nice variety. If I could wish for something, it would be a little bit more diligence in the informative texts about the sightseeing spots. There are mistakes in the text or logical breaks.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es war ein spannender, selbst geführter Rundgang durch die Stadt Dresden, der einen nochmal ganz andere Dinge in den Blick nehmen ließ. Allerdings war das Ganze recht kurzweilig und die Informationen in der App schienen lediglich von den Websites der Attraktionen etc. zusammenkopiert worden zu sein
Netherlands –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tanja– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Informativ und kurzweilig
Karla– Mexico –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ulrike– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sophia– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Gute Stadttour. Allerdings war der Text teilweise redundant und hätte mehr Infos enthalten können. Insgesamt aber sehr unterhaltsam.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Eine gute Schnitzeljagd, lediglich die Info-Texte sind teilweise schlecht übersetzt. Insgesamt aber sehr zu empfehlen!
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Tour hat mir gut gefallen. Bis auf ein paar Rechtschreibfehler war auch alles gut gemacht. Es war kurzweilig und interessant.
Freimut– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ja das war gut.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es war abwechslungsreich und hat viel Spaß gemacht.
Elisa– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hat Spaß gemacht
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
alles top
André– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es war, auch für mich als Dresdner, eine sehr coole Sache die Stadt mit meinen Kids (11, 9) neu zu entdeckten. Die Rätsel waren lösbar und abwechslungsreich. Dazu noch gute Informationen. Hat Spaß gemacht.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Gut, leider muss für 2 Personen gelößt werden somit alleine nicht möglich.
Anke– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Diese Schnitzeljagd hat Spaß gemacht, auch wenn man sie allein unternimmt. Was man für den geringen Preis bekommt, ist einiges: viele Informationen und spannenden Anekdoten, ordentlich Schritte und einen Endorphinkick, wenn man das Rätsel gelöst hat. Auf jedenfall empfehlenswert.
María– Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Una forma muy dinámica y divertida de conocer la ciudad. Nos ha encantado!
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sehr netter Spaziergang durch Dresdens Altstadt. Durch das “Suchspiel” sieht man sich die Sehenswürdigkeiten viel intensiver und bewusster an. Das hat uns sehr gefallen. Die Texte in der App sind nicht immer gut verständlich (grammatikalisch und inhaltlich). Ansonsten sehr empfehlenswerte und günstige Art des Sightseeings.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ganz nett aber sehr einfache Fragen. Haben nicht Mal 1 Stunde gebraucht. Alles sehr nah bei einander.
George Papas (verified owner) –
Ik wil in andere steden spelen, het bevalt me goed, het is voordelig en flexibel.
Sandra– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hat Spaß gemacht. War kurzweilig. Für den Preis gut.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nette Tour durch die Altstadt, die Rätsel sind ziemlich einfach, aber es ist unterhaltsam – durch die Texte bekommt man auch immer ein paar Informationen zu Dresden und den Sehenswürdigkeiten.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Schnitzeljagt war sehr aufschlussreich und empfehlenswert. Wir haben zwar 2 Rätsel nicht erraten aber das hat nichts zu sagen. Wir hatten auf jeden Fall Spaß !
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The difference with this activity comparing to others of this type, is that you have to use basic mind abilities like imagination, logic, observation and sometimes combinatorial thinking which make it really unique. We enjoyed it at maximum. Highly recommended!