What is the Montpellier outdoor escape game?
The Montpellier outdoor escape game takes the logic of an escape room out into the streets: you play on your smartphone, and at each of the 10 stops a puzzle asks you to read the surroundings and reason your way to the answer. Plan on about 2 hours, with 36 minutes of walking over 2.6 km, and start on a day that suits you.
Each puzzle belongs to one landmark, from the Opéra Comédie and Saint-Roch church to the Peyrou arch, the Jardin des Plantes and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Each one stands on its own, so there is no storyline to follow. Stuck? If a riddle resists, a first, second and third pointer are there to crack it. Montpellier suits this format because its historic centre is compact, and the puzzles can be solved right on the street.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 36 min · 2.6 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the escape game
Think it through
Work out the puzzle at each stop by observing the surroundings and reasoning step by step. No prior knowledge of Montpellier is needed.
Observe
The clues sit in the details around each place, from façades and squares to the monuments themselves.
Walk
Follow Google Maps from one stop to the next: about 36 minutes of walking across roughly 2.6 km.
Set your pace
There is no countdown. Use hints when you need them, take a coffee break and carry on later or on 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
Groups of friends
Each puzzle gives the group something to argue about until the next stop, and nobody has to know Montpellier beforehand.
Couples
A shared challenge that keeps you talking as you move from one place to the next, with no clock in the background.
Team building
Teams of up to 5 each play on their own phone, so colleagues can split the reasoning and compare answers.
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 Place de la Comédie to Place de la Canourgue
10 stops · about 36 min walking · start: Place de la Comédie · finish: Place de la Canourgue
The first puzzle waits on Place de la Comédie and the last one on Place de la Canourgue, with eight landmarks in between: the Opéra Comédie, Saint-Roch church, the medieval lane Rue du Bras-de-Fer, the Porte du Peyrou, the Promenade du Peyrou, the Saint-Clément aqueduct, the Jardin des Plantes and Saint-Pierre Cathedral. Daylight makes the best start, because the game is played outdoors and rain or wind slow it down. Google Maps guides you from place to place, the app lets you change the order, and the puzzles need no entry tickets.
Open the route map ↗
1Place de la ComédieStart
Place de la Comédie is a large pedestrian square in the centre of Montpellier, lined with cafés and served by the tram network. It is the city's main meeting point, and the Opéra Comédie stands on one side of it.
2Opéra Comédie
The Opéra Comédie opened in 1888, with its interior designed by Cassien Bernard, a pupil of Charles Garnier, who had worked on it from 1884. The main auditorium seats 1,200, and the building has been a listed historic monument since 2020. It is the home of the Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier Occitanie.
3Saint-Roch Church
Saint-Roch is named after Saint Roch, a saint born in Montpellier who became the patron of pilgrims. The sanctuary was consecrated in 1867, and it still runs a pilgrims' hostel where walkers can stay and get their pilgrim credential stamped.
4Rue du Bras-de-Fer
Rue du Bras-de-Fer is a medieval lane in the Écusson, the old centre of Montpellier, known for its painted staircase. Its name is traced to an old metal tie rod that once braced its narrow façades, and the paintings are retouched irregularly, so they change over time.
Read the full story →
5Porte du Peyrou (Arc de Triomphe)
The Porte du Peyrou, often called the Arc de Triomphe, is a triumphal arch built in 1691 at the entrance to the Peyrou promenade. It honours Louis XIV, and the equestrian statue of the king, designed in 1690 by François d'Orbay, was set up on the promenade in 1718.
6Promenade du Peyrou
The Promenade du Peyrou is a broad formal esplanade laid out in 1689 on the edge of the old town. Its equestrian statue of Louis XIV stands here, and at its far end the Saint-Clément aqueduct feeds a reservoir built in 1753.
7Saint-Clément Aqueduct
The Saint-Clément aqueduct was built in 1753 to carry water to Montpellier, and it ends at the reservoir on the Peyrou. Its long row of arches is a visible reminder of the city's eighteenth-century water supply.
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8Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes was founded in 1593 by Henri IV, and it is often called France's oldest botanical garden. Its shaded paths and historic plantings make it a green retreat close to the old town.
9Saint-Pierre Cathedral
Saint-Pierre Cathedral was commissioned by Pope Urban V in 1364 and became a cathedral in 1536, when the see moved from Maguelone to Montpellier. Its fortress-like porch, supported by two large cylindrical pillars, has earned it the local nickname Fort Saint-Pierre.
10Place de la CanourgueFinish
Place de la Canourgue is one of Montpellier's oldest squares, shaded by hackberry trees. Its fountain of unicorns from the city's coat of arms dates from the 17th century, and the square is ringed by town mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries with a view of the cathedral.
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