From the embroidery-era station to Wiborada's church in ten riddles
The St. Gallen 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. Because the 10 stops sit close together in a compact old town, the 2.1 km take only about 26 minutes on foot, and riddles and stories fill the rest of a game of roughly 2 hours that begins whenever you open it.
Highlights include the red Stadtlounge, known as the Red Square, the Textile Museum and the story of St Gallen embroidery, the fountain of Gallus and his bear, the UNESCO-listed Abbey of St Gall with its baroque cathedral, and the Protestant St. Laurenzen Church right beside it. The old town is compact and largely car-free, so every stop is only a few minutes apart.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 26 min · 2.1 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish
A riddle game through the embroidery city and its abbey quarter
Red rubber, bronze figures, carved oriels
The riddles hide in what the city shows you from the street: the red surface that covers even the benches on the Red Square, the bronze figures of the Broderbrunnen, the carved and painted oriel windows of the old town. Sharp eyes and a little logic crack them, and nobody expects you to speak German.
Gallus, the bear and the first woman saint
Each solved riddle opens a story: how an Irish-born monk settled by the Steinach stream in 612, why a bear still appears on the city's coat of arms, and how the hermit Wiborada, walled up in a cell beside St. Mangen, became the first woman canonised by a pope. Prefer to listen? Let the audio narration read each tale aloud while you study the oriels.
2.1 km, much of it car-free
Only around 26 minutes of the game is actual walking, from the 1913 station building through the Bleicheli quarter and into the largely car-free old town. Google Maps shows the way between stops, and most of them lie just a few minutes apart.
Pauses on Gallusplatz and the Marktplatz
No clock is running, so sit by the Gallus Fountain or have a coffee near the Marktplatz and pick the game up later that day or on another one. The first stop is right outside the station, which makes it easy to begin straight off the train from Zurich.
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.
For a day in the abbey town: travellers, families, colleagues
Day trips and short stays
At around 2 hours, the game slots neatly into a day trip or a free afternoon and takes in the UNESCO-listed abbey district, the Red Square and two of the city's oldest churches. That still leaves time to look inside the cathedral or visit a museum afterwards.
Young fans of bears and legends
The bear that fetched firewood for Gallus, a square where even the sofas are red and the many spouts of the Broderbrunnen keep younger players looking. Every team includes an adult, and with only 2.1 km to cover, the distance is easy for small legs.
Office outings and club days
Up to 5 colleagues share a team, each following the riddles on their own phone, and a whole department can set off from the station forecourt in staggered waves. The finish at St. Mangen Church is a short walk from the Marktplatz, a handy place to gather for a drink when everyone is done.
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.
Anonyme (verified owner) –
Helen R. (verified owner) –
Easy to order and can’t wait to take part in this scavenger hunt / guided walk
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Chouette possibilité pour visiter la ville, les énigmes étaient un peu trop faciles à mon goût.
Cooper-France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Cora-France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Zoey-Croatia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Nora-Estonia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Julian-Russia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Lucas-Australia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Elena-France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Penelope-Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Dylan-Belgium –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Greece –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Excellent!
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Die Idee einer selbstorganisierten Schnitzeljagd gefällt mir. Allerdings brauchte es einige Zeit, bis ich als Lehrperson verstanden hatte, wie die App aktiviert wird und mit der ganzen Klasse geteilt wird. Es war verwirrend, dass ich 26 Voucher erhielt und dann doch bei allen das andere App installiert werden musste. Wozu die Voucher?
Switzerland –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Super Sache
France –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Excellent activity for all ages! It was great to learn about the city at our own pace.
Lucio –
We were a groupo of students. We enjoyed it really much ! It was a great team building activity for us!