The Milan scavenger hunt, explained
The Milan scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through the centre of Milan, solve a riddle at each of 10 landmarks and unlock the stories behind them. It takes about 3 hours, with roughly 53 minutes of actual walking over 4.3 km, and you start whenever you like.
Highlights include Sforza Castle, Teatro alla Scala, Santa Maria delle Grazie, home of Leonardo's Last Supper, the Duomo, the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the frescoed church of San Maurizio. Milan's centre is flat and its sights lie close together, so it is easy to explore on foot.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 53 min · 4.3 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish
Ten riddles from the castle to La Scala
Read the stone, solve the riddle
At each of the 10 stops a riddle points you at something in plain view: a carved emblem, a date over a portal, a figure on a façade. Observation and logic are all it takes, and nobody expects you to know Milanese history.
Legends that come with the answers
Every answer unlocks a story: the Devil said to have left two holes with his horns in the column beside Sant'Ambrogio, the half-woolly sow carved on the Palazzo della Ragione and linked to the name Mediolanum, the luck that comes from spinning on the bull in the Galleria floor. If you would rather look up than down at a screen, the audio narration tells it all.
Flat streets, 53 minutes on foot
Google Maps takes you between the stops: 4.3 km and 53 minutes of walking without a single hill, through the quarter around Sant'Ambrogio and on to the Duomo. Trams cross the route here and there, so watch the tracks.
Breaks are part of the game
The game never times you. Stop for an espresso, finish the next day if you like, and if your hotel is near the Duomo, reorder the stops in the app and begin there.
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.
What kind of traveller the Milan hunt suits
One free day in Milan
The castle, Leonardo's church, two basilicas, the Duomo, the Galleria and La Scala fit into a single afternoon of 4.3 km. The riddles make you look at each of them properly instead of just ticking them off.
Children who like to spot things
The clues are things to find, which suits children: a castle that was only ever a house, a sow carved in stone, a bull in a floor mosaic. An adult plays along, and the flat route keeps small legs going.
Teams of colleagues or friends
Up to 5 players form a team and each follows the game on a phone of their own, which works for a group of friends as well as for colleagues in town for a trade fair. All of it happens outdoors on public ground, so nothing needs booking.
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 Sforza Castle past Sant'Ambrogio to the Duomo and La Scala
10 stops · about 53 min walking · start: Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) · finish: Teatro alla Scala
The hunt starts at Sforza Castle and heads to Santa Maria delle Grazie, home of Leonardo's Last Supper, and the neo-medieval Castello Cova. Next come the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio with the Temple of Victory beside it, San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, the medieval Piazza dei Mercanti, the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and you finish on Piazza della Scala in front of the opera house. Should the Duomo end suit you better as a start, the app opens the game there or at any other stop and reorders the rest, and since every answer is found outside, no ticket desk ever stands between you and the next riddle.
Open the route map ↗
1Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco)Start
Galeazzo II Visconti built the first castle here in the 14th century, and from 1450 Francesco Sforza turned it into his ducal residence. The tall Filarete Tower above the entrance was rebuilt by Luca Beltrami in 1900–1905, and the castle museums hold Michelangelo's last sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà.
2Santa Maria delle Grazie
Guiniforte Solari began this Dominican church in 1463, and its Renaissance apse and dome are attributed to Donato Bramante. In the refectory of the convent next door Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in 1495–1498, and church and convent have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.
3Castello Cova
Castello Cova is a private residence on Via Carducci, built in the early 20th century in a neo-medieval style. With its brick walls, battlements and tower it looks like a small medieval castle, although it was built as a home and never served as a fortress.
4Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan, founded this basilica in 379–386, and the present Romanesque church dates mostly from the late 11th and 12th centuries. Its two bell towers belonged to the monks and the canons, and according to legend the two holes in the marble column beside the church were made by the Devil's horns.
5Temple of Victory
The Temple of Victory, also known as the Sacrario dei Caduti Milanesi, is Milan's memorial to the soldiers from the city who died in the First World War. The octagonal marble building was completed in the late 1920s and stands right next to the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio.
6San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
This church was begun in 1503 for the most important Benedictine convent in Milan. A wall divides it into a hall for the public and a hall for the nuns, and its walls are covered in 16th-century frescoes, many by Bernardino Luini, which is why it is often called the Sistine Chapel of Milan.
7Piazza dei Mercanti
This square was the centre of medieval Milan. The Palazzo della Ragione, built in 1233, housed the city government, and on its arcade you can spot a relief of the half-woolly sow, linked by legend to the origin of the name Mediolanum, while opposite stands the Loggia degli Osii of 1316.
8Milan Cathedral (Duomo)
The cathedral was begun in 1386 under Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and its façade was only completed in Napoleon's time, in the early 19th century. Built of pale pink Candoglia marble, it is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, with thousands of statues and the gilded Madonnina on its highest spire.
9Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Designed by Giuseppe Mengoni and built from 1865 to 1877, this glass-roofed arcade links Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala, and its two wings meet under a large glass dome. Tradition says that spinning three times on your heel on the bull in the floor mosaic brings good luck.
10Teatro alla ScalaFinish
Milan's opera house opened on 3 August 1778 with Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta, in a neoclassical building by Giuseppe Piermarini. It takes its name from the church of Santa Maria della Scala, which once stood on the site, and in the square in front stands Pietro Magni's monument to Leonardo da Vinci from 1872.
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Davleri-Proufa– Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Wonderful
Sandeep– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The scavenger hunt took us to alot of the main sites in Milan which was great. It also had facts about each location. Some of the clues felt too easy so my children lost interest after a while. It’s a good experience but more for being a cheap tour of Milan than a scavenger hunt
Ana Lucia– Mexico –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Est? bien pero la app tiene algunas fallas, una de ellas es que si la dejas de usar por unos minutos te hace empezar de nuevo con el registro. Otra es que deber?a ser m?s flexible con la ruta y por ?ltimo, brindar m?s informaci?n de cada punto, ya que la informaci?n que da es muy limitada
Kevin– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
excellent activite pour visiter la ville ? son rythme et ne pas rater de super endroits
Lili – France –
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Sympa pour visiter
United Kingdom –
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Good guide although some of the clues were a little strange!
Italy –
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Ottima idea per visitare punti salienti della citt?. Sarebbe bello poter scegliere tra diversi percorsi
pascal– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Pratique et tr?s sympa ? faire. Les enfants 4 et 7 ans n’ont pas hyper accroch? mais ?a aidait ? rendre la ballade ludique et ? les faire observer autour d’eux. Nous avons, en fonction de l’heure choisi l’ordre que nous voulions, adapt? en permanence. Cela nous a permis de d?couvrir des b?timents magnifiques de Milan.
Aaron– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Wir haben die Schnitzeljagd mit Kindern gemacht. Die R?tsel gefielen mir pers?nlich nicht so sehr und waren in sich nicht immer logisch, aber prinzipiell waren alle auch f?r Kinder (ab 8) machbar. Die Laufstrecken waren, vor allem am Anfang etwas zu lang. Die Informationen, die man ?ber die Sehensw?rdigkeiten erh?lt, sind sehr interessant, manchmal etwas zu langatmig (f?r Kinder). Insgesamt bekommt man eine tolle Tour zu den wichtigsten Sehensw?rdigkeiten an einem Nachmittag. Da kann man nicht meckern. Das Zoomen der Bilder hat in der App nicht wirklich funktioniert. Das war etwas nervig.
Claudia– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Aktivit?t als solches macht Spa?. Schwierig ist wenn es fragen gibt welche sich nicht erkl?ren und die Gruppe keine Chance zur L?sung hat. Hilfe war auch nicht hilfreich. Alles in allem aber gut
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Alles prima. Nur der Anfang war etwas kompliziert. Apps runterladen usw.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Fantastic fun and a great way to see parts of the City you may miss otherwise
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tr?s bien
Margot– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nous avons ador? ! Grande balade de Milan, on pouvait faire dans le sens que l’on voulait, mettre en pause, pas de pression, des infos disponibles mais pas obligatoire de les lire pour avancer c’est super ! Pour 5€ franchement n’h?sitez pas ?a fait un super itin?raire dans cette superbe ville.
Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
La actividad est? bien si no quieres pensar la ruta de los monumentos, adem?s puedes parar y retomarla cuando quieras. Las historias que te cuentan son interesantes aunque igual demasiado t?cnicas a veces y los acertijos o muy f?ciles o imposibles, adem?s de que no tienen nada que ver con la historia de los edificios, simplemente se resuelven con mirar.
Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Semplice e adatta ai bambini et? dagli 8 anni in su.
Giulia– Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Esperienza molto positiva: spiegazioni molto dettagliate e curiosit? interessanti. Gli indovinelli abbastanza facili e divertenti da risolvere.
Kelly– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Great- there was just one quiz that was incorrect which frustrated the kids!
Silke– Denmark –
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det var virkelig sk?nt at kunne g? i eget twmpo
Kajal– United Kingdom –
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We couldn’t find the place, it was very hard to find, so we didn’t join the activities
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super!
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Une bonne mani?re de visiter sans se demander quelle est l’?tape d’apr?s. Permet d’avoir quelques informations historiques. Par contre les ?nigmes sont plutot anecdotiques, on les a finalement laiss?es de c?t? .
Britta– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hat viel Spa? gemacht
Switzerland –
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Activit? sympathique pour d?couvrir un bout de la ville, mais peu interactif et assez peu d’infos finalement. Et parfois pas clair quant ? savoir si les infos se rapportent au monument devant nous, au suivant ou ? qqch d’autre.
Laura– Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bella, coinvolgente e stimolante, i percorsi non sono troppo lunghi ed ? adatta anche ai pi? piccoli. Consigliatissima per una mattinata alternativa
G?raldine– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Bien dans l’ensemble Activit? faite avec enfant de 9 ans. Quelques ?nigmes un peu dures Un peu cher, l’obligation de payer pour minimum 2 personnes est un peu exag?r?e surtout lorsqu’un seul t?l?phone suffit.
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Kurzweiliger Rundgang mit kniffligen R?tseln
Italy –
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Guida carina, alcuni enigmi non sono facilissimi, per una gita con bambini 7-11 anni ok
Switzerland –
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Parfait
Austria –
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Es war seher sch?n
Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sehr sch?n stadt. Man kann viel unternehmen sehr Spa? gemacht.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Kurze Zwischenwege bei den Sehensw?rdigkeiten, mit Hilfe von Maps alles gut zu finden. R?tsel und auch die Infos ?ber die Orte gut geschrieben, ein paar detailliertere Infos w?ren aber sch?n!
Lisa– Canada –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Enjoyable walk through the city centre.
Luke– United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We really enjoyed this style of self tour, which helps you see all of the key attractions whilst being a fun challenge to solve the clues. We’ll keep doing these in any future city we visit.
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tr?s peu d’indications…
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nous souhaitions d?couvrir Milan. Cette application nous a permis de d?couvrir des monuments qui ne sont pas sur le circuit classique et que nous n’aurions pas d?couvert sinon. Les petits jeux sont sympas. Un bon point de ce c?t? l?. En revanche, l’interface de jeu n’est pas tr?s intuitive, les contenus d’information sont tr?s succincts et il n’est pas possible de changer l’ordre de la visite. Nous aurions aim? int?grer le jeu au milieu de nos balades improvis?es. L’int?r?t d’acheter un jeu par personne se limite ? la possibilit? que chacun a de pouvoir lire l’?nigme sur son t?l?phone. Mais il n’y a aucune interaction entre les joueurs…
Sweden –
Collected on GetYourGuide
The overall experience is fun! But you dont get a map and you have to do them in a specific order wich made us go round in circles as we wanted to do other things to.
Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
veel te simpel. Wel een mooie manier om door de stad te wandelen….
Netherlands –
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Sjov ‘skattejagt’ gennem byens sev?rdigheder. Vi gjorde det som en del af vores firmatur i 3 hold. Selve sp?rgsm?lene har en OK sv?rhedsgrad – men enkelte af sp?rgsm?lene er svaret p? italiensk – burde v?re engelsk. Turen rundt tager et par timer – s? masser af sjov.
Austria –
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Ein tolle Sache!!!
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We explored the beautiful city of Milan in a great way. We saw hidden parts of the city , while walking. The info were interesting, the puzzles well designed. Value for money activity.Highly recommended.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We all enjoyed this walk through Milan and we saw many attractions ! The game-tour is very well designed .
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super activity!
Luxembourg –
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Visite qui permet de voir les principaux sites !
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
A great walk within Milan’s attractions . Nice thought riddles and tasks. Well done!
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Hat echt Spa? gemacht! Ist mal was anderes und sehr empfehlenswert
Italy –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Purtroppo gli indovinelli erano indecifrabili perch? descritti molto male
Greece –
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Very nice activity, recommended!
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was awesome!!!!
Franco –
Una grande passeggiata di Milano! Indovinelli molto belli e tutta la squadra ha amato il gioco e il percorso!