A riddle trail from Logan Square to Elfreth's Alley
The Philadelphia scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark through Center City, solve a riddle at each stop by observing closely, and unlock the stories behind it. Count on roughly 3 hours: the 63 minutes or so of walking cover 4.3 km from Logan Square to Old City past the 10 stops, and the remainder is yours for riddles, stories and perhaps a cheesesteak, whenever you choose to begin.
Highlights include Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted, the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia City Hall, the Chinatown Friendship Arch, the Betsy Ross House and Elfreth's Alley, one of the oldest residential streets in the United States. The historic district is compact and walkable, so the route links colonial history with the modern Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 63 min · 4.3 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
What you uncover between City Hall and Old City
A tilted O, Penn's hat and an old spelling
The riddles rest on what Philadelphia shows in the open: the red LOVE sculpture with its tilted letter O, William Penn in bronze high on the City Hall tower, the Chinese characters across the Friendship Arch and the old spelling Pensylvania on the Liberty Bell. Read carefully and the answers follow.
A dinosaur, a cracked bell and a family story
Solved riddles unlock the city's stories: the first dinosaur skeleton ever put on public display, mounted at the Academy in 1868, the bell that cracked and was recast in Philadelphia, and the tale of Betsy Ross sewing the first Stars and Stripes, which no document from the time confirms. Let the audio narration carry the history while your eyes stay on the brickwork.
From the Parkway to the colonial streets
Google Maps guides you through about 63 minutes of walking, 4.3 km in total, from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway past City Hall and Chinatown to Independence Mall and the narrow lanes of Old City. The ground is flat, and the scenery changes from grand boulevard to 18th-century brick.
Your own pace through history
No clock runs in the game, so stop for lunch near Franklin Square or Independence Hall and carry on afterwards. If the day ends early, Elfreth's Alley keeps its last riddle for 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 riddles from the Parkway to Old City
History fans on a first visit
Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Museum of the American Revolution and Elfreth's Alley all lie on one walk, and the game ties them together in about 3 hours. You see where the Declaration of Independence was adopted without planning a single step.
Families looking for something to find
A tilted O to photograph, a hat on a tower, a carousel in Franklin Square and one of the oldest residential streets in the United States keep children busy. A grown-up joins every young team, handy when the history questions get tricky.
Groups finishing in the 1700s
Teams of up to 5, each player on their own phone, set off from Logan Square a few minutes apart and meet again at Elfreth's Alley among houses built by craftsmen in the 18th century. Office teams, school classes and old friends all end up in the same narrow lane.
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: Logan Square, LOVE Park, City Hall, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Elfreth's Alley
10 stops · about 63 min walking · start: Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University · finish: Elfreth's Alley Museum
The hunt starts at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on Logan Square and passes JFK Plaza, known as LOVE Park, before reaching City Hall. It then moves through Chinatown and Franklin Square to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, continues to the Museum of the American Revolution and the Betsy Ross House, and finishes at Elfreth's Alley. Staying in Old City? The app can just as well begin at Independence Hall and line up the remaining stops in a new order, and because every riddle is solved from the sidewalk, the museums and historic houses along the way never charge the game an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel UniversityStart
Founded in 1812, the Academy is one of the oldest natural science institutions in the Americas and stands on Logan Square along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In 1868 it mounted Hadrosaurus foulkii, the first dinosaur skeleton ever put on public display. It has been part of Drexel University since 2011.
2LOVE Park (JFK Plaza)
This plaza opposite City Hall, officially named after President Kennedy, is known to everyone as LOVE Park. Robert Indiana's red LOVE sculpture, with its tilted letter O, first came here for the 1976 Bicentennial and was later bought for the city. Behind it a large fountain marks the start of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
3Philadelphia City Hall
Built between 1871 and 1901 to designs by John McArthur Jr., City Hall is crowned by a 37-foot bronze statue of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, by Alexander Milne Calder. For decades an unwritten agreement kept every building in the city lower than Penn's hat, until One Liberty Place rose higher in 1987.
4Chinatown Friendship Arch
This richly painted Chinese gate on 10th Street was dedicated in 1984 to mark the friendship between Philadelphia and its sister city Tianjin. Artisans from China built it, and Tianjin supplied its ornamental tiles. The large Chinese characters across the top read Philadelphia Chinatown.
5Franklin Square
Franklin Square is one of the five public squares in William Penn's 1682 plan for Philadelphia, and it was named after Benjamin Franklin in 1825. Its centrepiece is a fountain from 1838 that runs again since the square was renovated in the 2000s. Today it is a family park with a carousel and mini golf.
6Liberty Bell
The bell was cast in London in 1752 for the Pennsylvania State House, cracked when it was first rung and was recast in Philadelphia by Pass and Stow. Its inscription from the Book of Leviticus calls for liberty to be proclaimed throughout all the land, and in the 1830s abolitionists made it their symbol and gave it its name. Look for the old spelling Pensylvania.
Read the full story →
7Independence Hall
Built between 1732 and 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House, this brick building is where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the United States Constitution was drafted in 1787. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Look up at the white steeple, where the Liberty Bell once hung.
8Museum of the American Revolution
Opened in 2017 at the corner of Third and Chestnut Streets, this museum tells the story of the American Revolution through objects, paintings and full-size scenes. Its best-known treasure is the tent George Washington used as his headquarters during much of the war.
9Betsy Ross House
This small brick house on Arch Street, built around 1740, is where the upholsterer Betsy Ross is said to have lived and worked. According to a family story first made public by her grandson in 1870, she sewed the first Stars and Stripes in 1776, but no document from the time confirms it.
10Elfreth's Alley MuseumFinish
Elfreth's Alley dates from the early 1700s and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the United States. Its brick houses were built mostly by craftsmen and tradesmen between 1728 and 1836, and the street is named after the blacksmith Jeremiah Elfreth. The museum occupies two of the houses, numbers 124 and 126.
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Maurice (verified owner) –
Anonymous (verified owner) –
So cute activity will do again in another city