What is the Ghent outdoor escape game?
The Ghent outdoor escape game is an escape room turned inside out: the puzzles sit in the city's own landmarks and you work through them on your phone, with observation and logic instead of prior knowledge. Count on roughly 2 hours, of which only 30 minutes are spent walking the 2.5 km between the 10 stops, so most of the time goes on the puzzles themselves.
The towers do much of the work here. Puzzles are set at the Belfry with the gilded dragon on its spire, at Saint Bavo's Cathedral, on the Korenmarkt, on the Vrijdagmarkt with Jacob van Artevelde pointing towards England, and at the Gravensteen. Each puzzle is self-contained rather than part of a story, and up to three levels of hints are waiting if one holds you up. Ghent's medieval core is small and ringed by the Leie, which keeps the distances between puzzles short.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 30 min · 2.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the escape game
Solve
A puzzle waits at every landmark and is cracked by looking around and reasoning. Nothing needs to be studied in advance.
Look closer
The answers hide in stonework, towers, statues and the layout of the market squares themselves.
Walk
Google Maps links the stops, and the whole route adds up to only 30 minutes on foot over 2.5 km.
Take your time
No countdown runs. Take a hint when you want one, break for a drink on the Graslei and continue 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
Short walks and quick puzzles mean the group stays together and everyone gets a turn at guessing.
Couples
Two hours of puzzles along the canals, at your own pace, with no clock pushing you from one tower to the next.
Team building
Teams of up to 5 play on their own phones, which keeps a company outing easy to organise.
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 Saint Michael's Church to the Gravensteen
10 stops · about 30 min walking · start: Saint Michael's Church (Sint-Michielskerk) · finish: Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts)
The first puzzle stands beside the Leie at Saint Michael's Church, and Saint Michael's Bridge, the spot where the three towers line up, carries you over to Saint Nicholas' Church. From there the puzzles lead past the Belfry and Saint Bavo's Cathedral to the City Hall, back to the Korenmarkt, north to Saint James' Church and the Vrijdagmarkt, and the last one is at the Gravensteen. Daylight is the better choice, since everything is solved outside and the Flemish weather can turn. Google Maps does the navigation, the stop order can be changed in the app, and no entry tickets are needed.
Open the route map ↗
1Saint Michael's Church (Sint-Michielskerk)Start
This late Gothic church on the bank of the Leie was probably begun in 1440, but its tower was never finished: a 134-metre spire designed in 1662 was never built, and a flat roof has covered the tower since 1828. Inside hangs Anthony van Dyck's painting of Christ dying on the cross.
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2Saint Michael's Bridge (Sint-Michielsbrug)
The Ghent architect Louis Cloquet designed this stone bridge over the Leie, built in the years before the 1913 World's Fair. From its centre you see the towers of Saint Nicholas' Church, the Belfry and Saint Bavo's Cathedral lined up above the Graslei and Korenlei quays.
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3Saint Nicholas' Church (Sint-Niklaaskerk)
Begun in the early 13th century, Saint Nicholas' Church is a leading example of Scheldt Gothic, built of blue-grey stone from the Tournai area. Its central tower served as a lookout and carried the town bells until the Belfry was built, and the guilds of the nearby market added chapels along its sides.
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4Belfry of Ghent (Belfort)
Begun in 1313 and completed in 1380, the Belfry rises 91 metres and is the tallest belfry in Belgium. A gilded dragon was first placed on its top in 1377 and still guards the spire, and the tower is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France.
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5Saint Bavo's Cathedral
Work on the Gothic church of Saint Bavo began around 1274, and its tower rises 89 metres. It holds the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, completed in 1432, and the future Emperor Charles V, born in Ghent in 1500, was baptised here.
6Ghent City Hall (Stadhuis)
Ghent City Hall shows two faces: a richly carved late Gothic wing on the Hoogpoort, begun in 1519 and never finished, and a more sober Renaissance facade on the Botermarkt, built from the late 16th century. In 1576 the Pacification of Ghent, an alliance of the provinces of the Low Countries against the Spanish troops, was signed here.
7Korenmarkt
The Korenmarkt takes its name from the grain trade: from around the 10th or 11th century, grain shipped in on the Leie was sold here. Today the square links Saint Nicholas' Church with Saint Michael's Bridge, and its west side is dominated by the former main post office, built between 1898 and 1910 by Louis Cloquet and Stéphane Mortier.
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8Saint James' Church (Sint-Jacobskerk)
A first church was built on this spot in 1093, and the two Romanesque towers of Saint James' Church date from the 12th century. The building was extended and rebuilt many times, so Romanesque and later parts stand side by side, and the square around it, Bij Sint-Jacobs, is known for its flea market.
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9Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market)
For centuries the Vrijdagmarkt was the stage for Ghent's markets, festive royal entries and public executions. In the middle stands Jacob van Artevelde, the 14th-century leader who kept Ghent's trade with England going during the Hundred Years' War, and since 1863 his statue has pointed towards England.
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10Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts)Finish
Count Philip of Alsace built the Gravensteen in 1180 on the site of an earlier fortification. After the counts moved out it served as a mint, a court and a prison, later even as a cotton mill, until the city restored it from 1893, and in 1949 students occupied it in protest against a new beer tax.
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