Québec City scavenger hunt
Located in Old Quebec's Place-Royale, the Fresque des Québécois is a massive trompe-l'œil mural depicting four centuries of the city's history, architectural evolution, and key historical figures across a 420-square-meter wall.
Place Royale is a picturesque square in Old Quebec that marks the 1608 founding site and the cradle of French civilization in North America.
The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is a majestic, world-renowned hotel that dominates the Quebec City skyline and holds the distinction of being the most photographed hotel in the world.
Place d'Armes is a historic public square in Old Québec that serves as a central gathering point surrounded by iconic landmarks.
The City Hall of Quebec City is a grand 19th-century building that blends Second Empire and Château-style architecture at the heart of the historic district.
Québec City scavenger hunt
Located in Old Quebec's Place-Royale, the Fresque des Québécois is a massive trompe-l'œil mural depicting four centuries of the city's history, architectural evolution, and key historical figures across a 420-square-meter wall.
Place Royale is a picturesque square in Old Quebec that marks the 1608 founding site and the cradle of French civilization in North America.
The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is a majestic, world-renowned hotel that dominates the Quebec City skyline and holds the distinction of being the most photographed hotel in the world.
Place d'Armes is a historic public square in Old Québec that serves as a central gathering point surrounded by iconic landmarks.
The City Hall of Quebec City is a grand 19th-century building that blends Second Empire and Château-style architecture at the heart of the historic district.

Québec City Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

Rated 4.73 out of 5 based on 30 customer ratings
(30 customer reviews)

3.67 out of 5 from 3 verified bookings

Explore the city at your own pace with a self-guided experience.
Buy your ticket, download the app, and start instantly.

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Make a day of itInteractive guides by World City Trail, delivered with your tickets.

What is a city guide?

Your own guide to Quebec City on your phone: hand-picked places, each with why to go, what to order and a practical tip.

  • Tick places off
  • Your own notes
  • One tap to Maps
  • Open now, near me
  • Works offline
  • Print it or save as PDF
See the guides, a short video and all the details →
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On a cruise? See how to get from the ship to the start and how it fits your port day.Port day guide →

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved by thousands of travelers and locals

  • No time limit – use your ticket whenever you want
  • Secure checkout - Instant confirmation

Included: your personal Trail Map with every city you finish, the kilometres you walk and your flag collection. See an example →

Quebec City. Route, every stop, local tips and prices on our local site: wct-onlineapp.com →

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Everything you need for a flexible self-guided city experience

Explore the city at your own pace

✔ Discover hidden gems & highlights
✔ Enjoy a flexible self-guided experience
✔ Explore freely with no schedule
✔ Perfect for couples, students, companies, friends & families

How your city experience works

✔ Instant ticket purchase
✔ Easy access via the World City Trail app
✔ Quick setup with your booking details
✔ Start anytime and explore freely
✔ Pause and resume anytime

Why travelers choose this tour

✔ Instant access after purchase
✔ Optional AI voice narration — listen instead of read
✔ Discover top attractions & food spots
✔ Customize your route anytime

Old Quebec in ten riddles, from the cliff down to the river

The Quebec City scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark in Old Quebec, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. From the towers of City Hall down to the riverside quarter, the 10 stops cover 3 km and about 35 minutes of walking, and with riddles, stories and clifftop views the game lasts roughly 2 hours, starting whenever you are ready.

Highlights include the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral, the Château Frontenac, the boardwalk of Dufferin Terrace, the huge Fresque des Québécois mural and Place Royale, where the city began in 1608. Old Quebec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, is compact, and the route links the Upper Town on the cliff with the Lower Town by the river, so expect stairs and slopes.

  • Durationabout 2 hours
  • Walkingabout 35 min · 3 km
  • Stops10
  • LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch

What you do above the cliff and below it

A Holy Door, a hotel castle, a painted wall

Each stop holds one riddle whose answer stands in front of you: a detail of the Monument to the Faith on Place d'Armes, the bust of Louis XIV on Place Royale, a figure in the trompe-l'oeil of the Fresque des Québécois. Looking closely and thinking it through is enough, and nobody expects you to know the history of New France.

Champlain, Frontenac and Churchill

Every answer brings a story: Champlain building his Habitation on Place Royale in 1608, the Count of Frontenac who gave the hotel its name, and the Quebec Conferences of 1943 and 1944, when Churchill and Roosevelt met at the Château. If you would rather keep your eyes on the river, the audio narration tells them from your phone.

3 km from the clifftop to the riverbank

Walking adds up to about 35 minutes, from City Hall across the Upper Town, along the boardwalk of Dufferin Terrace and down to the Lower Town. Google Maps shows the way, and the Breakneck Stairs earn their name, so the route has its share of steps.

Linger on the boardwalk

Nothing is timed, so stay on Dufferin Terrace for the view or warm up with a hot drink in Petit-Champlain, then pick up the game later or on another day. Those sleeping near the port can make Place Royale their first stop instead.

See the route and attractions →

How it works

  1. Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
  2. Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
  3. Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.

Visitors, families and teams in Old Quebec

A first look at a UNESCO old town

Old Quebec has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1985, and in about 2 hours the game leads you from the basilica-cathedral and the Château Frontenac down to the square where the city began. That suits a first day in town or a cruise call, and the riddles make you notice what you might otherwise stroll past.

Children who like cannons and painted windows

Kids enjoy the old cannons on the edge of Montmorency Park, the steep Breakneck Stairs and the two murals, where painted people and windows merge with the real street. An adult plays with them, and the views from Dufferin Terrace give small legs a breather.

Teams that regroup on Place Royale

Up to 5 players share a team, each with the game on their own phone, so a large group can leave City Hall in several teams and gather again on Place Royale or in Petit-Champlain. Everything happens on public streets, squares and stairways.

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 City Hall over Dufferin Terrace down to Petit-Champlain

10 stops · about 35 min walking · start: Quebec City Hall · finish: Fresque du Petit-Champlain

The hunt starts at City Hall and continues to the basilica-cathedral and Place d'Armes before reaching the Château Frontenac. You then walk along Dufferin Terrace to Montmorency Park, go down to the Lower Town for the Fresque des Québécois and Place Royale, continue to the Breakneck Stairs and finish at the Fresque du Petit-Champlain in the Petit-Champlain quarter. Every riddle is read from a façade, a monument or a painted wall, so neither the cathedral nor the Château asks you for an entry ticket along the way, and if you are staying down by the river, the app can open the game in the Lower Town and put the Upper Town stops after it.

Open the route map ↗

  1. Quebec City Hall

    1Quebec City HallStart

    Quebec City Hall opened in 1896 on the site of the former Jesuit college, to designs by the architect Georges-Émile Tanguay. Its towers rise above the Jardin de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, a small public garden in front of the building.

  2. Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral

    2Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral

    This is the mother church of the first Catholic diocese in North America north of Mexico, created in 1674 with François de Laval as its bishop. Destroyed during the siege of 1759 and again by fire in 1922, it was rebuilt both times. In 2013 it received a Holy Door, the first outside Europe.

  3. Place d'Armes

    3Place d'Armes

    This square was the parade ground of the French garrison in the days of New France, next to the governor's residence. In its centre stands the Monument to the Faith, unveiled in 1916 for the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Récollet friars in 1615.

  4. Château Frontenac

    4Château Frontenac

    The Château Frontenac opened in 1893 as a railway hotel of the Canadian Pacific Railway, designed by the American architect Bruce Price. It is named after the Count of Frontenac, governor of New France, and in 1943 and 1944 it hosted the Quebec Conferences, where Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the conduct of the Second World War.

  5. Dufferin Terrace

    5Dufferin Terrace

    This wide wooden boardwalk along the clifftop opened in 1879 and is named after Lord Dufferin, Governor General of Canada, who pushed for the preservation of the city walls. It looks over the St Lawrence River and the Lower Town, and beneath it lie the remains of the Château Saint-Louis, the residence of the governors of New France.

  6. Montmorency Park

    6Montmorency Park

    This park on the edge of the cliff is named after François de Montmorency-Laval, the first bishop of Quebec, whose palace once stood here. Later the parliament of Lower Canada met on this site. Old cannons line its edge, and a statue of George-Étienne Cartier, one of the Fathers of Confederation, looks out over the river.

  7. Fresque des Québécois

    7Fresque des Québécois

    This trompe-l'oeil mural in the Lower Town covers a whole building wall of more than 400 square metres. Painted in 1999 by Quebec and French artists, it shows about 15 figures from four centuries of local history, among them Samuel de Champlain and Bishop Laval, alongside scenes of everyday life.

  8. Place Royale

    8Place Royale

    Place Royale is where Samuel de Champlain built his Habitation in 1608, the start of the French settlement. The stone church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, begun in 1688, is named after French successes against the English in 1690 and 1711, and a bust of Louis XIV recalls the square's royal name.

  9. Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou)

    9Breakneck Stairs (Escalier Casse-Cou)

    The Breakneck Stairs link the Côte de la Montagne in the Upper Town with Rue du Petit-Champlain below, and a stairway has stood here since the 17th century. Their steep flights explain the name, and from the top you look straight down the narrow street of the Petit-Champlain quarter, often called one of the oldest commercial streets in North America.

  10. Fresque du Petit-Champlain

    10Fresque du Petit-ChamplainFinish

    This trompe-l'oeil mural covers the end wall of a house in the Petit-Champlain quarter and portrays the history of the neighbourhood and its residents over the centuries. Its painted building fronts and figures blend into the real street, so look closely to see where the house ends and the painting begins.

30 reviews for Québec City Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

  1. Rated 5 out of 5

    Anonymous (verified owner) –

  2. Rated 4 out of 5

    Erica (verified owner) –

    Fun way to see the city. Some of the riddles are unclear and require more explanation as to what you are looking for, but the hints give you the understanding you need. Integration with Google Maps for walking directions between sights is great.

  3. Rated 5 out of 5

    Canada –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  4. Rated 2 out of 5

    Jessica (verified owner) –

    The answers weren’t explained and the clues weren’t very clear

  5. Rated 4 out of 5

    Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  6. Rated 5 out of 5

    Liam-Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  7. Rated 5 out of 5

    Riley-Hungary –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  8. Rated 5 out of 5

    Canada –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  9. Rated 5 out of 5

    Cora-Germany –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  10. Rated 5 out of 5

    Emma-Denmark –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  11. Rated 5 out of 5

    Eleanor-Australia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  12. Rated 5 out of 5

    Andrew-Spain –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  13. Rated 5 out of 5

    Mia-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  14. Rated 5 out of 5

    Elijah-Estonia –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  15. Rated 5 out of 5

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  16. Rated 5 out of 5

    Jordan-Poland –

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    Violet-Germany –

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  18. Rated 5 out of 5

    Cora-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  19. Rated 5 out of 5

    Adrian-France –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  20. Rated 4 out of 5

    Paisley-Czech Republic –

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  22. Rated 5 out of 5

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  23. Rated 5 out of 5

    Nathan-Slovenia –

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  24. Rated 5 out of 5

    Liam-Germany –

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  26. Rated 5 out of 5

    Joshua-Italy –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  27. Rated 5 out of 5

    Stella-Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  28. Rated 4 out of 5

    Aaliyah-Netherlands –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

  29. Rated 5 out of 5

    Katie– Canada –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    This was cute!! The information you learn about the landmarks is handy, some stuff I didn’t know before I started. There’s also some folklore stuff that pops up between stops and those stories are fun. There was a couple of typos and I did skip a couple of stops because there was construction but that’s not the app’s fault!

  30. Rated 4 out of 5

    Marie– United States –

    Collected on GetYourGuide

    Great tour. Some of the questions on the tour was too challenging. Also old Quebec is very hilly and those breakneck steps…. and those cobblestones streets….walk carefully. Otherwise, it was a great to tour.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the game in Old Quebec take, stairs included?

Between City Hall and Petit-Champlain about 2 hours pass. Around 35 minutes of that is walking, over 3 km and 10 stops, including the descent from the Upper Town to the river, and the rest goes on riddles, stories and the view across the St Lawrence. Pausing is allowed at any moment, and the game waits until you come back.

Does the game start in the Upper Town and end down by the river?

It does. The first riddle is at City Hall, built in 1896 on the site of the old Jesuit college, and the last one at the Fresque du Petit-Champlain in the Lower Town. If you would rather begin at Place Royale or another stop, the app lets you choose.

Is there a meeting point where a guide waits for us?

Nobody is waiting with a flag, and no hour is fixed. The reference in your booking email unlocks the game in the World City Trail app, and you walk into the City Hall garden whenever it fits your day. With one ticket per player, each of you sees the riddles about New France on your own screen.

Do we pay to enter the Château Frontenac or the basilica?

The game needs no entry ticket at all, because each riddle is solved from outside. Guided tours of the Château Frontenac and rides on the funicular between the Upper and Lower Town are paid extras, and stepping inside the basilica-cathedral is a separate visit you can add to your day.

What will children enjoy in Old Quebec?

With a grown-up in each team, quite a lot: the cannons in Montmorency Park, the bust of Louis XIV on Place Royale and the trompe-l'oeil murals, where they can try to tell the painted windows from the real ones. The Breakneck Stairs and the steep Côte de la Montagne rule out wheelchairs and make a pushchair a real struggle.

Is the Quebec City hunt available in French?

Yes, French is one of six languages, together with English, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, which suits a city where French is spoken every day. The choice is made per player in the World City Trail app, ahead of the first riddle in the City Hall garden.

Can our company play the game as a team outing?

Certainly. Buy a ticket for each person, split into teams of up to five and send them off from City Hall a few minutes apart, then meet again on Place Royale at the end. No room has to be booked, as the whole game is played in the open air.

What gear do we need for the Breakneck Stairs and the Quebec weather?

A charged phone with mobile data for each team, a power bank and shoes with good grip for the slopes and the Breakneck Stairs. Quebec winters are cold and snowy, so dress warmly in that season, and all year round earphones make the audio narration easier to hear.

Your first riddle waits at City Hall

Every player needs a ticket, and the booking reference lands in your inbox as soon as you have paid. On the day you choose, walk up to Quebec City Hall in the Upper Town and open the first riddle beneath its towers.

Book your tickets →

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