Bonn Self-Guided Walking Tour: Riddles & Landmarks

Riddles lead you past Bonn's Romanesque towers and baroque palace on your own schedule.

This self-guided scavenger hunt takes you through Bonn's city centre on foot using phone-based riddles to navigate between landmarks. You download the Explorial app, enter a game code, and follow interactive challenges at the Beethoven-Haus, Bonner Münster and Kurfürstliches Schloss at your own pace. No guide meets you, no fixed start time, and you can take breaks whenever you want. Available in 24 languages.

The experience

You start at Brüdergasse 8 in the old town, open the Explorial app on your smartphone, and enter a 6-digit game code sent by text and booking-platform message. The riddles pull you through Bonn's compact centre without a guide or fixed schedule. Just your group, the city and the challenges the app serves up. Around two hours of walking, but you set the pace and decide when to stop.

The Beethoven-Haus opens the game: the pink townhouse where Ludwig van was born in 1770, with riddles that move through his prodigy years and famous scowls. Next comes the Bonner Münster, five towers of Romanesque stone built over the graves of two Roman martyrs: the app's trivia investigates while you circle the building. Then the Kurfürstliches Schloss stretches its baroque wings across the Hofgarten lawn, once the electors' palace and now the university's main building. The leaderboard tracks your group's score against the city's high score, turning the walk into a game.

You need a fully charged smartphone with active mobile data and the app downloaded before you start. Disable any VPN and avoid city Wi-Fi so the app stays connected. The walk covers public areas only, so no entrance fees are required at any of the sights. Weather or illness can be rescheduled to another day, and you can rebook to a different city or request a refund if needed.

What’s included

• Download of the Explorial app for iOS or Android.
• 6-digit game code sent by text and booking-platform message.
• self-guided walking tour with interactive riddles, trivia challenges and photo tasks.
• points and scoring system to compete within your group and against the city's high score.
• live location map to navigate and track where you are.
• stories, history and local legends about each landmark.
• total flexibility to start anytime, walk at your own pace and take breaks whenever you want.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (10 to 90 years) · Child (under 10): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 15 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Explorial

Is this one for you?Go with a group of up to 15 people if you want everyone solving riddles together at their own pace, with no guide keeping time and no waiting for a fixed departure. Solo travellers and families work just as well: the app adapts to any group size and lets each person move through the city on their own schedule.

Traveler reviews

4.20★★★★★★★★★★

20 verified traveler reviews

5 ★13

4 ★2

3 ★3

2 ★0

1 ★2

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Romanian, Danish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Czech, Norwegian, Hungarian, Cantonese, Greek, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Hindi and Turkish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (under 10): free.

Can I start the Bonn scavenger hunt whenever I want, or is there a fixed time?

You start whenever you choose. There's no fixed departure time or guide meeting you. Download the app, enter your game code, and begin the riddles on your schedule.

What is the Beethoven-Haus and why does the tour start there?

The Beethoven-Haus is the pink townhouse on Brüdergasse where Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770. The app's riddles guide you through his early years and personality as you explore the building's public areas.

Do I need to pay entrance fees to visit the landmarks on this tour?

No entrance fees are required. All the puzzles and challenges relate to public areas of the sights, so you can complete the scavenger hunt without paying to enter any building.

What happens if bad weather or illness stops me from finishing the tour?

You can reschedule the tour for another day, rebook to a different city, or request a refund. The operator offers a weather and health guarantee so you're not stuck with a booking you can't use.