Rimini scavenger hunt: Augustus, the Malatesta lords and Fellini's old quarter
The Rimini scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind it. The distances are modest, around 34 minutes and 2.8 km on foot linking 10 stops from a Roman arch to a Roman bridge, and the riddles, legends and an espresso or two bring the game to about 2 hours, beginning whenever you choose.
Highlights include the Roman Arch of Augustus, the Renaissance Tempio Malatestiano, Piazza Tre Martiri, Castel Sismondo, the Roman surgeon's house of the Domus del Chirurgo and the 2,000-year-old Tiberius Bridge. Rimini's old town is compact and flat, so on foot you move easily from Roman monuments to Malatesta palaces and the painted lanes of Borgo San Giuliano.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 34 min · 2.8 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you puzzle out between the arch and the bridge
Gods in medallions, initials in marble
The clues are carved into the stone around you: the heads of gods in the medallions of the Arch of Augustus, the letters S and I woven together on the Tempio Malatestiano, the five arches of the Tiberius Bridge. A good eye and some reasoning crack each one, without a word of Italian.
Caesar, a surgeon and the devil
Every answer opens a story: the stone where Julius Caesar is said to have spoken to his troops after crossing the Rubicon, the Roman doctor whose house burned down with more than 150 instruments inside, and the devil who, legend says, helped build the bridge and left his footprints on it. The app shows each story as text and can also play it as audio.
A flat 2.8 km
Google Maps guides you for around 34 minutes in total, down Corso d'Augusto, past the castle and the theatre and over the bridge into Borgo San Giuliano. No hills, just short walks between squares.
Gelato and a pause in the shade
There is no countdown, so sit on Piazza Tre Martiri with a coffee, grab a gelato on the way to the bridge or head to the beach and finish tomorrow. The app keeps your place.
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 a riddle walk through Rimini
Beach holidaymakers with a free morning
Most people come to Rimini for the sea, and this 2-hour game shows them the Roman and Renaissance town behind the beach, with time to be back on the sand by the afternoon.
Children who like gory and spooky details
A surgeon's tools from Roman times, a devil's footprints on a bridge and colourful murals of film characters keep young players hunting, with an adult in each team.
Holiday groups and office teams
Teams of up to 5, everyone on their own phone, can start at the Arch of Augustus at intervals and meet again among the painted houses of Borgo San Giuliano.
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 the Arch of Augustus over the Tiberius Bridge to Borgo San Giuliano
10 stops · about 34 min walking · start: Arch of Augustus · finish: Madonna della Scala
The hunt starts at the Arch of Augustus and follows Corso d'Augusto, the old Roman main street, to the Tempio Malatestiano and Piazza Tre Martiri. It then turns to Castel Sismondo, the Teatro Amintore Galli on Piazza Cavour, the Domus del Chirurgo and the City Museum, before reaching the Tiberius Bridge. You cross into Borgo San Giuliano to see its murals and finish at the Madonna della Scala. Nothing on the way needs an admission ticket, because each answer is in the stonework, inscriptions and painted walls outside, and if your hotel is nearer the bridge or the castle, the app can launch the game there and rework the sequence.
Open the route map ↗
1Arch of AugustusStart
The Roman Senate erected this gate in 27 BC in honour of Emperor Augustus, where the Via Flaminia from Rome reached Rimini. It is one of the oldest surviving Roman arches. Look for the medallions with the heads of gods on both sides and the battlements added on top in the Middle Ages.
2Tempio Malatestiano
Around 1450 Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Rimini, had Leon Battista Alberti wrap the Gothic church of San Francesco in a new marble shell inspired by Roman arches. The façade was never finished, and the building is now Rimini's cathedral. Look for the intertwined letters S and I, for Sigismondo and Isotta degli Atti.
3Piazza Tre Martiri
This square stands on the site of the Roman forum and is named after three young partisans hanged here in August 1944. According to tradition, a stone base marks the spot where Julius Caesar spoke to his troops after crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. The small octagonal temple recalls a miracle of St Anthony of Padua.
Read the full story →
4Castel Sismondo
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta began this fortress in 1437 as his residence and stronghold, and Filippo Brunelleschi is said to have advised on its design. Only the central core survives, with its thick sloping walls and square towers, while the moat and outer walls disappeared over the centuries.
5Teatro Amintore Galli
Rimini's theatre on Piazza Cavour was designed by Luigi Poletti and opened in 1857 with the first performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aroldo. Bombs in the Second World War left it a ruin for decades, and it reopened in 2018 after a long reconstruction. It is named after the composer Amintore Galli.
6Domus del Chirurgo
In 1989 works in Piazza Ferrari uncovered this Roman house, destroyed by fire in the 3rd century AD. It belonged to a doctor, and more than 150 surgical and medical instruments were found inside, one of the largest such sets known from the Roman world. A modern glass structure now protects its mosaic floors.
Read the full story →
7City Museum
The Museo della Città fills a large 18th-century former Jesuit college right next to the Domus del Chirurgo. Its collections run from prehistoric and Roman finds to medieval and Renaissance art, and they include the instruments found in the surgeon's house next door.
8Ponte di Tiberio
Begun under Augustus in 14 AD and completed under Tiberius in 21 AD, this bridge of Istrian stone still stands on its five arches over the old bed of the Marecchia. It marked the start of the Via Aemilia towards Piacenza. Legend says the devil helped to build it, and people point out his footprints on the stone.
9Murals of Borgo San Giuliano
Borgo San Giuliano, the old fishermen's quarter just across the Tiberius Bridge, is known for its colourful houses and painted walls. Many of the murals honour the film director Federico Fellini, who was born in Rimini in 1920, and show characters and scenes from his films.
Read the full story →
10Madonna della ScalaFinish
This small place of Marian devotion, dedicated to the Madonna della Scala, lies at the end of the route near Borgo San Giuliano. Sacred images and little shrines like this one are part of everyday life in Italian neighbourhoods, and local people still look after them with flowers and candles.
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Germany –
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Céline– Switzerland –
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Très chouette app pour découvrir la ville à son rythme avec les enfants. Les énigmes mettent un peu de piquant et forcent les enfants à participer un peu.
Canada –
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Amelia-Denmark –
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Nathan-France –
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Ellie-Belgium –
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Evelyn-Germany –
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Mateo-Australia –
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Karoline– Norway –
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Really interesting way to do some sightseeing and learning about a new place. The only little thing I would wish for was for some of the information to be more oriented for children considering it was advertised for, among others, families. My children (10 and 14) love history and learning, but the information was a bit boring and dry for them.
Italy –
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Divertente e utile per vedere la città ed imparare la storia
Grace-Germany –
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Maya-Germany –
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Elena-France –
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Nora-Slovenia –
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Andrew-Germany –
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