Nuremberg's riddle trail: from the city wall over the Pegnitz to the Imperial Castle
The Nuremberg scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through the walled old town, solve a riddle at each landmark by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. From the opera house by the city wall up to the castle rock you cover 3.2 km and 10 stops, some 41 minutes of actual walking, and the riddles, stories and the final climb fill the rest of roughly 2 hours, starting whenever you are ready.
Highlights include the Gothic Lorenzkirche, the grotesque figures of the Ehekarussell fountain, the Hauptmarkt with the Schöner Brunnen and its lucky brass ring, Albrecht Dürer's House and the Imperial Castle above the roofs. The old town is compact and largely pedestrianised, so medieval churches, bridges over the Pegnitz and half-timbered lanes are all within easy walking distance.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 41 min · 3.2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you solve between the opera house and the Kaiserburg
An ox, a brass ring and a merry-go-round of marriage
Each riddle hides in something you can see from the street: the stone ox on the gate beside the Fleischbrücke, the brass ring set into the railing of the Schöner Brunnen, the grotesque couples of the Ehekarussell fountain. A careful look and some logic crack them, with no German needed.
Emperors, a shoemaker-poet and a painter's house
Each solved riddle opens a Nuremberg story: why all the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire stayed at the castle between 1050 and 1571, how the shoemaker-poet Hans Sachs saw married life, and where Albrecht Dürer lived and worked from 1509 until his death. The audio narration can take over the telling while you climb.
3.2 km from the wall to the castle rock
Google Maps guides you through about 41 minutes of walking, mostly flat through the southern old town and across the Pegnitz, then uphill past St Sebaldus to the castle. The last section is the steepest, so the view over the red roofs is well earned.
A bratwurst stop on the way up
Pause for Nuremberg's small grilled sausages or a slice of Lebkuchen near the Hauptmarkt, and your game waits on your phone without a clock running. Finish before dinner or come back to the castle riddles 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 will enjoy the Nuremberg hunt
Christmas-market visitors with daylight to spare
In Advent the Hauptmarkt fills with the stalls of the Christkindlesmarkt, and the game is a good way to see the rest of the old town between mulled wine and gingerbread. It links the churches, the bridges and the castle in about 2 hours.
Children who like oxen and fountains
An ox that was never a calf, a ring that is said to bring luck and the little figures circling on the Frauenkirche clock at noon are hard for children to resist, with a grown-up solving alongside them.
Teams that race to the castle
Teams of up to 5, each player on their own phone, start at the opera house a few minutes apart and finish at the Imperial Castle. Colleagues, classes and groups of friends all get a friendly contest with a climb at the end.
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: opera house, Handwerkerhof, Lorenzkirche, Pegnitz, Hauptmarkt, St Sebaldus, Dürer's House and the Imperial Castle
10 stops · about 41 min walking · start: Nuremberg Opera House · finish: Imperial Castle
The hunt starts at the Nuremberg Opera House just outside the city wall and enters the old town at the Handwerkerhof by the Königstor. You continue to the Lorenzkirche and the Ehekarussell, cross the Pegnitz on the Fleischbrücke to the Hauptmarkt and the Schöner Brunnen, then climb past St Sebaldus Church and Albrecht Dürer's House to finish at the Imperial Castle. Every answer is on a gate, a fountain or a carved wall, so the game never needs a ticket for the castle, Dürer's House or any church, and staying up near the castle is no problem either, as the app can begin the hunt there and work out a new order for the remaining stops.
Open the route map ↗
1Nuremberg Opera HouseStart
The opera house of the Staatstheater Nürnberg was designed by Heinrich Seeling and opened in 1905, just outside the medieval city wall near the Frauentor. Its façade mixes neo-baroque forms with Art Nouveau details, and today it stages opera, ballet and concerts.
2Handwerkerhof
Inside the walled courtyard by the Königstor, the Handwerkerhof recreates a medieval craftsmen's lane with small half-timbered houses. It opened in 1971, the year Nuremberg celebrated the 500th birthday of Albrecht Dürer, and craft workshops and small eateries line its alleys.
Read the full story →
3Lorenzkirche
St Lawrence's Church is the great Gothic church of the southern old town, with two west towers framing a large rose window. Its late Gothic hall choir was completed in 1477, and inside are Veit Stoss's carved Annunciation and Adam Kraft's stone tabernacle, which rises almost to the vault.
Read the full story →
4Ehekarussell
This bronze fountain by the sculptor Jürgen Weber was set up beside the White Tower in 1984. It illustrates a poem by Nuremberg's shoemaker-poet Hans Sachs about the bittersweet nature of married life, showing couples from first love to quarrels and death in deliberately grotesque figures.
Read the full story →
5Fleischbrücke
Built between 1596 and 1598, the Meat Bridge crosses the Pegnitz in a single flat stone arch and is often compared with the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Beside it, the Ox Gate carries a stone ox with a Latin inscription joking that this ox was never a calf.
Read the full story →
6Hauptmarkt
Nuremberg's main market square was created in 1349, after the city's Jewish quarter was destroyed in a pogrom approved by King Charles IV. On its east side stands the Frauenkirche, whose clock performs the Männleinlaufen at noon, when the seven prince-electors circle the emperor in memory of the Golden Bull of 1356.
7Schöner Brunnen
The Beautiful Fountain was made at the end of the 14th century and rises about 19 metres like a Gothic church spire. Some 40 coloured figures show prophets, prince-electors and heroes, and legend says that turning the brass ring set into its railing brings good luck.
Read the full story →
8St Sebaldus Church
St Sebaldus is Nuremberg's oldest parish church, begun in the 13th century and extended with a tall Gothic hall choir in the 14th. Inside lies the bronze shrine of the city's patron saint by Peter Vischer and his sons, and on the outer choir wall you can see Adam Kraft's carved Schreyer-Landauer epitaph.
Read the full story →
9Albrecht Dürer's House
Albrecht Dürer, Germany's most famous Renaissance painter, bought this house below the castle in 1509 and lived and worked here until his death in 1528. With its sandstone ground floor and half-timbered upper storeys, it stands on the square by the Tiergärtnertor and has been a museum since 1871.
10Imperial CastleFinish
Nuremberg's Imperial Castle sits on a sandstone ridge above the old town, and between 1050 and 1571 all the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire stayed here. Look for the round Sinwell Tower and the Deep Well, and take in the view over the red roofs of the city.
Read the full story →
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Klaus M. (verified owner) –
Great! Highly recommended!
Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
it’s interesting and cheap. didn’t give 5 stars because it kept trying to bring me through a longer path when I could clearly see in the map that there was a much more straightforward way to go from spot to spot. anyways it’s easy to decide within the app your own “next destination”. I’ll use it again at another city.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Tour war sehr kurzweilig. Die Hintergrundinfos zur Stadt waren sehr spannend. Die Rätsel waren gut zu lösen, aber trotzdem herausfordernd. Insgesamt top 👍🏼
Jose– Spain –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Ha sido interesante. Ya que la puedes hacer a tu ritmo y vas aprendiendo cosas de la ciudad. Además los peques, sobretodo, se motivan con las pruebas
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Lilian– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Abwechslungsreich, gute Route, nette Rätsel Aber: für Schüler*innen z.T. zu anspruchsvoll
Jessika– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super 👍🏼 mal eine andere Art und Weise die Stadt zu erkunden. Die Rätsel haben Spaß gemacht. Würde ich jedem empfehlen.
Jessika– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super ???? mal eine andere Art und Weise die Stadt zu erkunden. Die R?tsel haben Spa? gemacht. W?rde ich jedem empfehlen.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Heike– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sehr interessante Idee, es hat Spa? gemacht!
Dany– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Sch?ne Schnitzeljagd durch die erweiterte N?rnberger Innenstadt mit insgesamt zehn zu l?senden R?tseln. interessante Randinformationen zu den einzelnen Punkten. Dauer bei uns ca. 3 Stunden
Australia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It would be good to have a map of points rather than a list of places so you can determine your own path.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Es war gut beschrieben und von einfachen und schwereren R?tsel alles dabei. Wir waren im Weihnschtstrubel unterwegs und damit waren einige Dinge schwerer einsehbar. Machen wir bestimmt mal wieder .
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
A different and unique way to explore a new city. We had an incredible time solving the puzzles and learning info about the sights.
Lilly– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
So fun! Highly recommend as a good way to get to know fun facts about the city
Claudia– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Ziele und R?tsel haben uns gefallen. Leider konnte die Route nicht ver?ndert werden.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Wir hatten einen aktiven Nachmittag mit kleinen Shopping-Unterbrechungen ;-). Durch die flexible Nutzung der App konnten wir f?r uns passenden Pausen einbauen und waren trotzdem als Gruppe gemeinsam unterwegs. Die R?tsel waren gut l?sbar. Wir hatten allerdings 10 K?pfe zum Mitdenken und folglich 20 Augen zum Suchen 🙂 Im gem?tlichen Tempo und ohne Unterbrechungen sollte man trotzdem mit 2,5h rechnen, da es doch einiges zum Laufen gibt. Die geschichtlichen Informationen waren interessant und die R?tsel haben einfach Spa? gemacht. Alles in Allem ein gelungener Betriebsausflug.
Libby– United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
I really loved this activity. It was a fun and unique way to tour the city. Some of the clues/riddles were difficult but for the most part we really enjoyed it!
Johannes Bakker (verified owner) –
In het historische Neurenberg, waar elke stap een verhaal is, leerde ik een enorme hoeveelheid stadslegendes en informatie over elke plaats die ik bezocht, geweldig!
Eva– Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die R?tsel sind sehr schlecht gemacht, nicht nachvollziehbar und leider auch nicht alle m?glich zu l?sen (Statur fehlt, Brunnen abgedeckt…) hier w?rden sich bessere R?tsel finden lassen. Dem Audioguide in „Siri-Sprache“ h?rt man leider nicht gerne zu, bekommt dennoch gute Infos ansonsten gute Tour mit allen Sehensw?rigkeiten
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
It was an excellent activity which helped us explore the city in a different and interactive way. The puzzles were very nice and the information very interesting . We really enoyed the walk and route. We will do it again to other cities for sure!