Chiado Baixa Self-Guided Walking Tour & Scavenger Hunt

The earthquake rebuilt Lisbon on a grid, and you navigate it by solving riddles on your phone.

A self-guided scavenger hunt through Lisbon's Baixa and Chiado districts using the Explorial app to unlock riddles, trivia and photo tasks at landmarks like the Elevador de Santa Justa and Arco da Rua Augusta. Download the app, enter your game code at Praça dos Restauradores, and follow the mosaic pavements south for around two hours at your own pace with no fixed start time or guide. Available in 24 languages. Groups up to 15 people.

The experience

You arrive at Praça dos Restauradores whenever suits your afternoon: no meeting time, no waiting. Open the Explorial app on your phone, enter the six-digit game code you received by text, and the riddles begin. The obelisk standing in the plaza opens the story: independence regained from Spain in 1640, celebrated in stone. From there, the app guides you south through the earthquake-born grid of 1755, each puzzle pointing you toward the next landmark.

The Elevador de Santa Justa rises ahead, a cathedral of rivets built by a disciple of Eiffel, still lifting passengers between Baixa and Chiado. Trivia questions queue up as you walk: answer them or skip them, the pace is entirely yours. You'll finish beneath the Arco da Rua Augusta, the gateway that opens onto Praça do Comércio and the wide Tagus beyond. The leaderboard posts results as you go, so your group competes against each other and against the city's high score.

The whole route takes around two hours of light walking, but you set the rhythm. Take breaks whenever you want, linger at a sight, or move faster: the app doesn't care. You need a fully charged smartphone with active mobile data and no VPN running. The app works in 24 languages, so you choose yours when you start. No entrance fees are required. All the puzzles relate to public areas of the sights, so you're never blocked by a ticket booth or a closed door.

What’s included

• Free download of the Explorial app (iOS or Android).
• self-guided walking tour with interactive riddles, trivia challenges and photo tasks.
• points and scoring system so you can compete within your group and against the city's high score.
• live location mapping to navigate the route and always know where you are.
• learn about Lisbon's history and local legends as you solve puzzles.
• 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 12 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Explorial

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want to move at your own pace and solve riddles to navigate between landmarks. Pick a guided tour instead if you'd rather have someone explain what you're seeing as you walk.

Traveler reviews

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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 scavenger hunt whenever I want, or is there a fixed time?

The tour is completely self-guided with no fixed start time. You download the Explorial app, enter your game code at Praça dos Restauradores, and begin whenever you're ready: morning, afternoon, or whenever your schedule allows.

What is the Elevador de Santa Justa and why does it matter on this route?

The Elevador de Santa Justa is a neo-Gothic iron lift designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, still operating today to carry passengers between the Baixa and Chiado neighborhoods. It's a landmark on the scavenger hunt route and a piece of Lisbon's engineering history from the late 1800s.

Do I need to pay entrance fees to any of the sites on the tour?

No entrance fees are required. All the riddles and photo tasks relate to public areas of the sights, so you can complete the entire scavenger hunt without buying tickets to any attraction.

What do I need to bring to start the game?

Bring a fully charged smartphone with an active mobile data connection. The Explorial app works on iOS or Android, and you'll need to disable any VPN and avoid city Wi-Fi to keep the app running smoothly.

How many people can be in my group?

Groups can be up to 15 people per booking. If your party is larger, you can make multiple bookings and have teams compete against each other on the leaderboard.