What is the Montreal outdoor escape game?
The Montreal outdoor escape game is an escape room with the city as its set: the puzzles are hidden in what stands around you, and you work through them on your phone using observation and logic. Set aside about 2 hours, including 59 minutes of walking over 4.7 km and 10 stops, and start on whichever day you feel like it.
Puzzles are posted at Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, on Square Victoria, at Notre-Dame Basilica, at Montreal City Hall and at the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, and none of them depends on the one before. Three levels of hints stand behind each. The route works because the city shifts under your feet: downtown glass gives way to the stone streets of Old Montreal and then to the river.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 59 min · 4.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Spanish, Chinese
What you do on the escape game
Solve
Take the puzzle at each landmark apart using what you can see and a chain of reasoning. No prior knowledge needed.
Look closer
A row of saints along a cornice, an Art Nouveau metro entrance, a balcony above a square: the clues are in plain sight.
Walk
Google Maps handles the route downhill to the river: 59 minutes of walking and 4.7 km in all.
Take your time
Nothing is counting down. Take a hint, stop in Old Montreal for a break 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
Ten separate problems and ten chances for somebody to be sure they have it before anyone else does.
Couples
A long walk with a reason to stop and talk at every landmark, and no clock pushing you towards the river.
Colleagues
Teams of up to 5 play on their own phones, which turns an office outing into a straightforward plan.
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 the downtown cathedral to the Clock Tower
10 stops · about 59 min walking · start: Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral · finish: Clock Tower
The first puzzle stands at Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, with Place du Canada across the street. From there the route works south through Square Victoria and MEM, the city history museum, to Pointe-à-Callière, built on the spot where the settlement of 1642 began. Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal City Hall and the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel follow in the old streets, and the last two puzzles are in the Old Port, at La Grande Roue and the Clock Tower. Start in daylight, because everything is solved outdoors and the weather counts; reorder the stops in the app if you prefer, and leave the entry tickets out, as none are needed.
Open the route map ↗
1Mary, Queen of the World CathedralStart
Montreal's Catholic cathedral was built between 1875 and 1894 as a smaller-scale copy of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Bishop Ignace Bourget wanted it as a sign of loyalty to the Pope, and a row of statues of saints stands along the top of its façade.
2Place du Canada
Place du Canada is a green square opposite the cathedral that once formed the southern half of Dominion Square, together with today's Dorchester Square. On its edge rises the Château Champlain hotel, a 1960s tower known for its rows of half-moon windows.
3Square Victoria
Square Victoria, named after Queen Victoria, marks the gateway between downtown and the business district of the Quartier international. A bronze statue of the queen stands here, and one entrance to the metro is an original Art Nouveau design by Hector Guimard, a gift from Paris in the 1960s.
4MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises
MEM is Montreal's city history museum, devoted to the stories and memories of the people who have lived here. It continues the work of the former Centre d'histoire de Montréal and tells the city's past through the voices of Montrealers themselves.
5Pointe-à-Callière
Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal's Museum of Archaeology and History, stands on the spot where Ville-Marie, the settlement that became Montreal, was founded in 1642. It opened in 1992 for the city's 350th anniversary, and its modern building with a slim lookout tower faces Place Royale.
6Notre-Dame Basilica
Notre-Dame Basilica was built between 1824 and 1829 to plans by the Irish-American architect James O'Donnell, and its twin Gothic Revival towers face Place d'Armes. O'Donnell, a Protestant, converted to Catholicism before he died and is buried in the church he designed.
7Montreal City Hall
Montreal City Hall was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style and rebuilt after a fire gutted it in 1922. In 1967 the French president Charles de Gaulle called out his famous words 'Vive le Québec libre' from its balcony.
8Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel
Marguerite Bourgeoys, Montreal's first teacher, had the first chapel built on this site in the 17th century, and the present stone chapel dates from 1771. Known as the sailors' church, it has ship models hanging inside, and a statue of the Virgin on the roof stretches out her arms towards the river.
9La Grande Roue de Montréal
La Grande Roue de Montréal is a Ferris wheel about 60 metres high in the Old Port, opened in 2017 for the city's 375th anniversary. Its closed gondolas give views over the St Lawrence River, Old Montreal and Mount Royal.
10Clock TowerFinish
The Clock Tower at the end of the Quai de l'Horloge was completed in 1922 as a memorial to the merchant sailors who died in the First World War. About 45 metres high, it looks out over the St Lawrence River towards the Jacques Cartier Bridge.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Anne-Sophie– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Très bien pour une découverte de la ville, même avec des enfants de 7 et 10 ans. Par contre, on a mis la journée, avec un arrêt pour manger et un arrêt pour l’éclipse…
Simon– Canada –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nous n’avons pas terminé l’activité, mais nous la terminerons certainement bientôt.
SENEZE– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
tout est parfait
Marc André –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Pas encore finir car ces explication quand dit et la réponse est des lettre ces pas la même chose quand tu dois jour aussi avec des chiffre cela peu prendre du temps et je ne voit pas le défi je dois aller à indice pour résoudre
Pascal– France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
La fonction de déplacement n’est pas fiable et le point gps enregistré fait faire des détours. De plus un bug sur la dernière énigme nous a empêché de la faire (chargement de l’image impossible). Déçu de la qualité de l’application qui ne correspond pas au prix de l’activité.
Brittany– United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
We enjoyed the adventure up until the last clue where we had technical difficulties. We were able to reach out to explain what happened and told to uninstall and reinstall the app, unfortunately we were no longer in Montreal to complete the clue. Overall we enjoyed the game and were able to venture around Montreal.
Gilles– Canada –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nous ne sommes pas déçus d’avoir trouvé cette activité. Malgré le froid nous avons prit du plaisir à résoudre les énigmes en parcourant le centre ville de Montréal ! Les indices sont d’une grande utilité.
Mexico –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Exalente
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Une très belle balade sympathique qui nous a fait découvrir de jolis endroits en répondant aux enigmes. Cela nous a pris un peu plus de deux heures. Dommage qu à une énigme, la bonne réponse était trouvée, mais affichée comme fausse. Nous n avons pas compris. Mais les 10 points à voir ont été trouvés. Ma fille a 11 ans et a trouvé quelques réponses, je pense que les plus jeunes ont besoin de l aide des parents.
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Enjoyable way to walk and discover a new city. We saw far more of Montreal than we may have discovered for ourselves. However, we did have a hiccup – the first landmark statue is no longer on display, probably due to cultural history. We spent a lot of time looking for it until we worked this out Get your guide need to review the routes and be aware of these things
United Kingdom –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Be prepared for some walking, great fun and a different way to see the old city