Brick Gothic, Hanseatic merchants and ten riddles on Lübeck's island
The Lübeck scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk across the old town island 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. The Burgtor-to-cathedral route asks for only about 44 minutes of walking across 3.4 km and 10 stops, and once riddles and stories are added the island game comes to about 2 hours, beginning whenever you choose.
Highlights include the Burgtor and the Holstentor, the two surviving city gates, the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, the Buddenbrookhaus of Thomas Mann's novel, St Mary's Church with the tallest brick vault in the world and the town hall beside it. Lübeck's old town is compact and walkable, with brick gables, narrow lanes and church towers always in sight.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 44 min · 3.4 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
From gate to gate and church to church: how the Lübeck game works
Wind holes, a Latin motto and a devil on a stone
The answers are in plain sight once you look: the round openings in the town hall's tall facade walls, the words Concordia domi foris pax on the Holstentor, the little devil beside St Mary's. Every riddle relies on observation and reasoning, never on knowing German.
Buddenbrooks, Memling and Henry the Lion
Each solved riddle opens a chapter of Lübeck's past: the Mann family house on Mengstraße that inspired Buddenbrooks, the Passion altarpiece by Hans Memling in the St Anne museum, the cathedral Henry the Lion founded in 1173. With the audio narration switched on, you hear these chapters between stops.
3.4 km from the northern gate to the southern tip
Walking takes up about 44 minutes of the game: from the Burgtor down through the merchant streets to the market, out west to the Holstentor and back, then south to the cathedral. Google Maps handles directions, and the old town island is compact enough that you never stray far.
Marzipan breaks are allowed
Nobody times you, so stop for coffee and the marzipan Lübeck is famous for whenever you fancy it, then pick the game up later that day or on another one. The Burgtor, where it all starts, stands at the northern end of Große Burgstraße.
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.
Day trippers from Hamburg, families and teams
A day out from Hamburg or a Baltic stopover
Lübeck is under an hour from Hamburg by train, and in about 2 hours the game covers both surviving city gates, St Mary's, the town hall and the cathedral. It works just as well as a stop on the way to or from the Baltic coast.
Children with an eye for devils and bells
Young players like spotting the devil sculpture by St Mary's, hearing about the bells that crashed down in 1942 and still lie broken in the south tower, and counting the pointed roofs of the Holstentor. One adult per team is needed, and the short distances leave time for an ice cream.
Colleagues who split up at the Burgtor
Groups of up to 5, every player with a phone of their own, can leave the northern gate in staggered waves and swap stories at the cathedral. The route keeps to public streets, so there is nothing to hire for the day.
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.
Jörg– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hat spass gemacht
Line– Denmark –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Denmark –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Alexandra– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bettina– Denmark –
Collected on GetYourGuide
A good way to Explorer the city
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Das benützen der Schnitzel Jagt würde gut erklärt. Alles war gut einfach zu benützen. Historisches würde schön und interessant erklärt. Insgesamt hat es Spaß gemacht, die Fragen zu erraten und die Wege abzulaufen.
Desiree Kieffer– Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ich finde 7 Euro pro Person eigentlich einen stolzen Preis dafür, dass man zusätzlich eine App downloaden landen und die Infos lesen muss. Man kann auch nur für eine Person bezahlen und zu zweit losziehen. Die Informationen sind jedoch interessant und ich habe einiges über Lübeck gelernt. Man muss diese Art der Stadterkundung mögen und neugierig sein.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Guter gruppendynamischer Einstieg in den Städtetripp, gut fanden wir, dass man auch jederzeit pausieren konnte.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
War sehr gut, Pausen nach Bedarf jederzeit m?glich
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
I think so many opportunities were missed with this tour. The tour included key buildings in L?beck but there are so many other points of interest and none of these were even mentioned. I’d describe this as a basic tour of the town. We skipped all the activities as they felt more family oriented in terms of getting the children interested in the activity. Not of interest to two adults!
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nette Tour durch L?becks Altstadt, die die wichtigsten Sehensw?rdigkeiten einschlie?t. Besonders gut gefallen hat uns, dass man die Reihenfolge, sowie den Startpunkt der Tour frei w?hlen kann.