Zurich's scavenger hunt: what you are signing up for
The Zurich scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from the Swiss National Museum via the Limmat and the lake to the Old Town, solve a riddle at each of 10 landmarks by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories behind it. It takes about 3 hours at a relaxed pace, with around 47 minutes of actual walking over 3.7 km, and you start whenever you like.
Highlights include the Alfred Escher monument on Bahnhofplatz, the view from the Lindenhof, the huge clock face of St Peter's Church, the Town Hall standing in the Limmat, the Opera House and the twin towers of the Grossmünster. Zurich's centre is compact, the river and the lake are never far away, and the walk mixes medieval lanes with lakeside promenades.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 47 min · 3.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Riddles along the Limmat and the lake
One riddle, one landmark
There are 10 landmarks with a riddle waiting at each, answered by something you can make out on the spot: a figure on a fountain, a number on a clock face, a name above a door. You need sharp eyes and clear thinking, not a guidebook.
Women in armour and a kneeling horse
Answers unlock Zurich's tales: the women who, according to legend, marched up to the Lindenhof in armour during a siege in 1292, Charlemagne's horse said to have knelt over the graves of Felix and Regula where the Grossmünster now stands, and the Böögg snowman burned on Sechseläutenplatz at the spring festival. Every story can also be played as audio.
River, hill and lakeshore
Google Maps sets the course: 3.7 km, about 47 minutes of walking, with one short climb to the Lindenhof and otherwise level ground along the Limmat and the lake. Bridges take you from one bank to the other.
Your schedule, not ours
The game waits for you, whether you sit down on the lakeshore or come back another day. If you are staying near the Opera House or in the Old Town, the app lets you begin at another stop and rearrange the order.
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 Zurich's hunt is a good fit for
A short stay in Zurich
Museum, station square, Bahnhofstrasse, the Lindenhof, two churches, the Town Hall, the lake and the Opera House fit into one afternoon. The riddles hold you at each place long enough to see more than the postcard view.
Curious children
A clock face about 8.7 metres across, a fountain recalling women in armour and a statue of Pestalozzi with a child beside him: Zurich has plenty to spot. A grown-up plays along, and the walking distance is modest.
Business travellers and teams
Teams count up to 5 players, each with the game on their own phone, which suits colleagues after a meeting as well as friends on a weekend away. The whole route is public space, so nobody has to book a room.
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 Landesmuseum over the Lindenhof and along the lake to the Old Town
10 stops · about 47 min walking · start: Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum) · finish: Old Town (Altstadt)
The hunt starts at the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum) and crosses Bahnhofplatz in front of the main station to the Pestalozzianlage on Bahnhofstrasse. From there you climb to the Lindenhof, continue to St Peter's Church, cross the Limmat to the Town Hall and head for Lake Zurich. Along the shore you reach the Opera House, then the Grossmünster, and the hunt finishes in the lanes of the Old Town. Should another stop suit you better as a starting point, or the lake before the hill, the app reorders the game for you, and because every riddle is answered on façades, fountains and squares, no ticket is needed at any point between the museum and the Old Town.
Open the route map ↗
1Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum)Start
The Landesmuseum beside the main station opened in 1898 in a building by Gustav Gull, designed like a French Renaissance château with towers and turrets. Inside, the national museum tells the story of Switzerland from prehistory to the present day.
2Bahnhofplatz
Bahnhofplatz is the square in front of Zurich's main station, whose station building by Jakob Friedrich Wanner opened in 1871. In the centre stands the monument to Alfred Escher, unveiled in 1889, honouring the politician and railway pioneer who pushed for the Gotthard railway and founded the bank that later became Credit Suisse.
3Pestalozzianlage
This small park on Bahnhofstrasse is named after Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), the Zurich-born educator whose idea of learning with head, heart and hand influenced schools far beyond Switzerland. His bronze statue by Hugo Siegwart, unveiled in 1899, shows him with a child at his side.
4Lindenhof
This hill shaded by linden trees rises above the Limmat where the Romans built a fort in the 4th century, and a Roman tombstone found here in 1747 names Turicum, the Roman name of Zurich. According to legend, the women of Zurich marched up here in armour during a siege in 1292, a story recalled by the Hedwig Fountain of 1688.
Read the full story →
5St Peter's Church
St Peter is thought to be the oldest parish church in Zurich, and its tower carries one of the largest church clock faces in Europe, about 8.7 metres across. The tower belongs to the city and served as a fire lookout until 1911, while the church itself belongs to the parish.
6Town Hall (Rathaus)
Zurich's Town Hall was built between 1694 and 1698 on foundations set in the Limmat, replacing an older council house from 1397. The cantonal parliament and the city parliament both still meet here, and from the bridge next to it you can see how the building stands right in the river.
7Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich stretches about 40 km to the southeast and covers almost 89 square kilometres, shared by the cantons of Zurich, St Gallen and Schwyz. At the city end its water flows out into the Limmat, and on clear days the Alps appear beyond the far shore.
8Zurich Opera House
The Opera House opened in 1891, built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer after the old theatre burned down in 1890. Busts of Weber, Wagner and Mozart and of Schiller, Shakespeare and Goethe decorate the façade above Sechseläutenplatz, where the Böögg snowman is burned at the spring festival.
9Grossmünster
According to legend, Charlemagne founded the Grossmünster where his horse knelt over the graves of Zurich's patron saints Felix and Regula; the present Romanesque church was begun around 1100. Huldrych Zwingli preached here from 1519 and made it the starting point of the Swiss Reformation, and the twin towers got their present tops in 1787.
10Old Town (Altstadt)Finish
Zurich's Old Town spreads along both banks of the Limmat, and its narrow lanes still follow the medieval street plan. On the right bank, the car-free Niederdorf is full of small shops, bars and fountains, and old guild houses line the Limmatquai.
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Rätsel lösen
Tara– Switzerland –
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R?tsel l?sen
Switzerland –
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Als Z?rcher hat mich wundergenommen was bei dieser Tour geboten wird. F?r jemanden welcher noch nie in Z?rich war und keinen Reisef?hrer hat und lieber auf eigene Faust losgeht ist die App sicher nicht schlecht. So sieht man sicher einmal ein paar der bekanntesten Orte. Die R?tsel sind gut l?sbar wenn man einmal den Dreh raus hat wie sie funktionieren. Leider werden z.T. Hinweise auf Orte gegeben, welche nicht auf der Tour sind und an welchem man auch nicht vorbei kommt. F?r mich als Ortsans?ssiger kein Problem, aber als Tourist ist es schade wenn einem solche Dinge dann wunder nehmen, und man nicht weiss wie man dorthin kommt. Zudem ist die deutsche ?bersetzung an einigen Orten nicht ganz perfekt, aber ich habe immer verstanden um was es ging.
Erin– United States –
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This was a good way to see the city! It added a bit of fun to our walk around downtown Z?rich.
New Zealand –
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Great way to see Zurich in a few hours with tweens. Just the right amount of history and information, lots of eateries along the way, just the right amount of walking between clues. Really good value and easy to use once I’d downloaded the apps.
Ernesto– Switzerland –
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Kurzweilig, am?sant. L?sbar. Ergibt einen attraktiven Rundgang zu vielen must-sees.
Isaac-Australia –
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Sarah– United States –
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Great way to know some history of the main attractions.
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Switzerland –
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es hat uns gut gefallen und die R?tsel waren spannend zum l?sen. Einzig beim Pestallozzi fanden wir die L?sung nicht passend (Schuhe oder Stiefel? Kravatte oder Schal?) und auch beim Lindenhofr?tsel war nicht klar dass jedes Fenster einzeln z?hlt. Ansondten hatten wir Spass!
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