Ten riddles inside Tallinn's medieval walls
The Tallinn scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through the medieval Old Town, solve a riddle at each of 10 landmarks by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and legends behind them. From Viru Gate to Fat Margaret the walking itself adds up to only 38 minutes, over 2.6 km and 10 stops, and with the riddles and stories in between the game fills about 2 hours, beginning whenever you open it.
Highlights include Viru Gate, the Gothic Town Hall, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Toompea hill, the House of the Blackheads and Pikk Street. Tallinn's Old Town is compact and best explored on foot, with cobbled lanes, merchant houses and stretches of the medieval city wall between the stops.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 38 min · 2.6 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do between the towers of the Old Town
Gargoyles, a weathervane and a Moor above the door
Each stop hides one riddle in what stands in front of you: the dragon-head gargoyles on the Town Hall, Old Thomas on top of its tower, the Moor above the painted doors of the House of the Blackheads. You solve everything by looking closely and thinking it through, with no Estonian required.
Friars, merchants and a novelist
A solved riddle unlocks the story behind the place: the Dominican friars who settled by the city wall by 1246, the Brotherhood of Blackheads and its patron Saint Maurice, and Eduard Vilde, remembered in white stone beside St Nicholas' Church. Prefer to listen? The audio narration reads each story aloud on the way up Toompea.
Up Toompea, down Pikk
Just 38 minutes of the game are spent walking, over 2.6 km: through the Lower Town, out to Freedom Square, up Toompea hill to the cathedral and back down to the long merchant street. Between the stops you follow Google Maps, and the only real effort is the brief climb up to Toompea.
A coffee on Town Hall Square when you feel like it
No clock is running, so sit down on Town Hall Square or in a café along Pikk whenever you want and carry on later that day or on another one. The two round towers of Viru Gate, at the end of Viru Street, make an easy place to meet before the first riddle.
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.
Ferry passengers, families and teams in the Old Town
Cruise passengers and weekenders
In about 2 hours you see the gate, the Gothic Town Hall, Toompea and the merchant street, and the game ends at Fat Margaret, the tower built to guard the harbour, which is handy if you came in by sea. It fits just as well into a first afternoon in Tallinn.
Dragon spotters and tower counters
Kids can spot the dragon heads on the Town Hall, the old guard on the weathervane and a cannon tower with walls up to 5 metres thick. The route is short, an adult plays in every team, and the hill up to the cathedral is the only steep part.
Teams that meet again at the sea gate
Teams of up to 5, every player on a separate phone, can set off from the two towers of Viru Gate in waves a few minutes apart. Everything happens in public streets, and Fat Margaret at the far end of Pikk is an obvious spot to compare answers.
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.
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Tina– Germany –
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Mexico –
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Austria –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Eine nette Möglichkeit, eine Stadt zu Fuß zu erkunden. Tolle Plätze zu sehen, ein bisschen von deren Geschichte zu lesen und nebenbei ein paar Rätsel zu lösen- toll
Australia –
Collected on GetYourGuide
Germany –
Collected on GetYourGuide
einfach flexible, lustig
Neelesh– Sweden –
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Italy –
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United Kingdom –
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Norway –
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Nathalie– Switzerland –
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Waren sehr schön.
Norway –
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Austria –
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Renko De– Netherlands –
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App gebruikt als routeplanner en om achtergrondinfo te lezen.
Italy –
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Camila Truzzi– Brazil –
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Spain –
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Bettina– Germany –
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Kurzweilig und informativ. Gut geeignet, um das Wesentliche in kurzer Form zu erfahren.
United Kingdom –
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Was a good set of questions to get you thinking which also took you to various parts of the city, would recommend ??
Andrea– Germany –
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Ich fand diese Onlinef?hrung anregend, wir bekamen einen guten ?berblick. Ich spiele gerne und so war f?r mich die Tour am?sant. Die Streckenf?hrung war leicht, die R?tsel l?sbar (sicher auch f?r Kinder ab Schulalter) und die jeweiligen Informationen mit den Sagen und Anekdoten unterhaltsam. Wenn man kein Freund von Stadtf?hrungen in Gruppen ist, super. ?ber einige Sehensw?rdigkeiten haben wir zus?tzlich im Netz nachgelesen. Sch?n w?re es, wenn man die (gekauften) Infos als PDF speichern k?nnte. Vielen Dank!
Kim– United States –
Collected on GetYourGuide
What a fun way to see the Old Town of Tallinn. I loved the different puzzles and seeing the city in this unique way!