Cologne Haunted Quest: The Witch Self-Guided Tour
Description
If you’re looking for an out-of-the-ordinary way to explore Munich that reveals a different side of the city, then this haunted exploration game is the one for you. Using your smartphone, solve clues to unlock stories and discover some of the city’s most haunted places—including Cologne Cathedral, Domplatte, the historic Old Town, and more. + Discover the most haunted streets, villas, and squares in the city + Find out the horror stories of the people who used to live there + Solve clues on your phone while you visit the haunted Cologne You are invited to discover the captive souls, the spirits and the mysterious skeletons of Cologne with an interactive city exploration app. Each clue will lead you from one place to another, giving you exact directions, so you won’t need a map, a GPS or a guide. When you solve it and guess the answer, the secret story of that place is unlocked. After booking, you can play anytime without rescheduling.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Carmelite Church of St. Joseph and St. Maria Magdalena in Würzburg was built by Antonio Petrini from 1662 to 1669. It was the first Baroque church of Würzburg, one that survived the tragic events of WW2. Approximately 500 people were sheltered from the bombing in the spacious crypt under the Church, where a child was born during the inferno. On March 16, 1945 , the vaults of the church, which served as a public air raid shelter were destroyed by bombs or a firestorm and the "by no means modest" furnishings burned almost completely. Don’t worry! The church was completely rebuilt by 1950 so you can continue discovering its hidden stories by looking around to find the answer to our challenge and advance to the next location.
Here you will come across one of the most impressive monuments of the world: the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Being designed as a grandiose house for the reliquary of the Three Kings by its medieval builders, it represented a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period for some centuries, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe". But what mysteries surround this place? Solve the puzzle and don’t get scared, Questo is with you along the way!
The “massive concrete belt around the cathedral”, Domplatte is a pedestrian platform where magic happens. For skaters and roller skaters, acrobats, street musicians and pavement painters, the areas in the shadow of the venerable Cologne Cathedral become a private open-air stage. Whether it was a concert of Frank Sinatra or Cologne’s famous Christmas market, Domplatte was booming with activity. Solve the clues and you can be in the front row!
Good effort! You are halfway through your route. Seeing that you did not get scared so far, we introduce you to the Melaten-Friedhof, an urban cemetery that offers an oasis of green and a glimpse into the city's storied history, art and personalities. Here you will find incredibly nice sculptures and monuments in a peaceful and quiet setting. You can wander around and enjoy the shady green avenues and beautiful trees, whilst meditating, perhaps, about the meaning of life...or the alternative. Don’t get too far or you may get lost among the tombstones! You will get indications on how to continue your game as soon as you find the right answer.
Hiroshima-Nagasaki-Park. Iconic name, iconic place! This is a park inaugurated in 2004 in Cologne in order to commemorate the tragic events that took place during WW2. Here you will find the Abolish Nuclear Weapons Memorial that was unveiled in the park, surrounded by three trees: a ginkgo for Hiroshima , a Japanese cherry for Nagasaki and a black poplar for Cologne. The memorial shows an origami crane that refers to a Japanese legend, according to which anyone who folds 1000 origami cranes (sembazuru) receives a wish from the gods It has more significance than you would expect, so don’t forget to lay an eye on it before going to the next checkpoint.
Cobbled streets, historic looking buildings, compact layout. Just made for wandering. Cologne’s Old Town has a distinctive historical charm. Visitors are drawn by its rustic narrow alleyways lined with traditional old houses. Innumerable breweries, pubs and restaurants invite passersby to linger. Here you can enjoy a draft Kölsch beer or try Cologne’s typical Halver Hahn sandwich to make sure you stay hydrated and energized until the end of the city game.
Cologne Central Station is for sure one of the most grandiose train stations from Germany. Being situated in the heart of the city, you can get from here to anywhere or you can simply visit it as a tourist attraction. If you missed the train, then you can surely solve the next clue that will take you to the final destination.
The oldest museum for East Asian Art in all of Europe and the only one in North Rhine-Westphalia can be found in Cologne. Opened in 1913, the house shows precious works of art from China, Korea and Japan. Your visit will take you to Buddhist paintings and wood sculptures, Japanese screen paintings, color woodcuts and lacquer art, porcelain and ceramics from the Bronze Age to the 19th century. While you are here, you can take your time to observe also the architecture of the building, which is in itself a work of art, with clearly structured cubes that are linked with the old Japanese traditions and at the same time developing a new, modern design touch. Now that you reached the end of your city game, you can call yourself a true Questo explorer!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(38)
Not all the clues were correct, a bit disappointing as the one we done previously was very good. Still a lovely walk though.
Thanks for the feedback! We're glad you enjoyed the walk and discovering new parts of Cologne. Sorry to hear some clues didn’t meet expectations—we’ll review and improve them.
The way to explore a city is great. You see things you wouldn't have seen like that. Also the info was great. I had done this quest alone, can definitely recommend it for groups. I will definitely do some more quests from now on.
Vielen Dank für dein Feedback! Es freut uns sehr, dass dir die Quest gefallen hat und du Köln auf neue Weise entdecken konntest. Schön, dass du auch Lust auf weitere Quests hast – viel Spaß beim nächsten Abenteuer!
If you like a good mix of historical and personal facts spiced up with a few fictious dramatic story twists, this is a fun way to explore the life of the alleged witch Katharina Henot, Germanys first female Postmaster and alternative herbal medic. She was innocent, but like so many others back then, burned alive at the Melaten Cemetery in Cologne. Yes, it is a long quest but well worth it!
Thank you for your thoughtful review! We're glad you enjoyed diving into Katharina Henot's powerful and tragic story while exploring Cologne. It’s a long journey, but we’re happy to hear you found it worthwhile. Hope to see you on another quest soon!
I should have believed one of the previous reviewers...... You have to feel like downloading tons of apps, registering again and again with mail addresses, booking numbers, etc. to handle the different programs of the mobile devices to get the whole thing going. In all this back and forth, the Apple system apparently created a “secure” mail address unnoticed, which then did not match my actual mail address and disaster was already pre-programmed: Paid for, got tickets and then nothing worked. Originally we just wanted to take a fun walk from the starting point to the city centre. After about 45 minutes of “logging in” we gave up unnervingly. The support didn't work either..! From here I revise my review: The organizer refunded the money to us. There's the second star for that. We have played similar games from other providers in different cities and have always enjoyed them - but we have not experienced such a complicated and error-prone process.
Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback. Es tut uns leid zu hören, dass Sie Schwierigkeiten hatten. Zur Klarstellung: Der Ablauf ist eigentlich sehr einfach gestaltet – nach der Buchung über TripAdvisor muss man den Quest lediglich mit dem Buchungscode freischalten und ein Konto in der Questo-App erstellen. In Ihrem Fall scheint das Problem entstanden zu sein, weil Sie sich mit Ihrer Apple-ID angemeldet und dabei Ihre E-Mail-Adresse verborgen haben. Dadurch konnte das System Ihre Buchung leider nicht korrekt zuordnen. Wir arbeiten aktuell an einem Update, das es ermöglicht, die Apple-Relay-E-Mail-Adresse direkt in der App unkompliziert zu ändern – ohne sich abmelden zu müssen. So lassen sich solche Fälle künftig leichter lösen. Wir verstehen Ihren Frust sehr gut und bedauern, dass Ihre Erfahrung nicht wie geplant verlaufen ist. Gleichzeitig möchten wir erwähnen, dass bereits über eine Million Menschen Questo erfolgreich gespielt haben. Vielleicht geben Sie dem Erlebnis ja zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt noch einmal eine Chance.
It’s quite fun to do such a Questo. This is the 4th one I've done. I always have the idea that I don't really see highlights alone. Also at this Questo in Cologne. The starting point is quite far from the center and then you walk to the center. I would really like more focus on the higlights. Furthermore, I like that there is variety of an exciting story, assignments and information. The assignments may be a bit more difficult and sometimes they cannot be answered properly due to the translation (tip: set the Questo language to English).
Hoi, Heel erg bedankt voor je leuke review en geweldig om te horen dat je al vier Questo’s hebt gespeeld – dat waarderen we enorm! Fijn dat je hebt genoten van het verhaal, de afwisseling en de opdrachten. We nemen je feedback over de route en de focus op highlights serieus. We gaan kijken hoe we dit kunnen verbeteren, zodat de startpunten logischer zijn en de bekendste plekken beter in beeld komen. Goede tip ook over de taal – we raden inderdaad aan om de app op Engels te zetten als je merkt dat de vertaling verwarrend is. En we nemen je suggestie over de moeilijkheidsgraad van de opdrachten zeker mee! Nogmaals bedankt voor je input en hopelijk tot snel bij een volgende avontuur! – Het Questo Team
Had a great time playing! It was super easy to follow, and we loved being able to go at our own pace. The stories were spooky and fun, and it took us to some really interesting parts of the city we might’ve missed otherwise. Definitely recommend it!
Thank you for the great review! We're so glad you had a fun time and enjoyed the freedom to explore at your own pace. It's wonderful to hear the spooky stories added to the experience and helped you discover parts of the city you might not have seen otherwise. Thanks for the recommendation. We hope to see you on another quest soon!
I thought I could take my family and walk this tour. Yet, the distance was too far. Because of the distance, I ended up not even doing the tour. This is a waste of money. If you want to do something like this, get a tour guide who will pick you up and drive you around. Otherwise, don’t waste your money.
Thank you for sharing your feedback — we're truly sorry to hear that the experience didn’t meet your expectations. Our quests are designed as self-guided walking adventures, encouraging exploration at your own pace while discovering hidden stories in the city. That said, we understand that the walking distance may not be ideal for everyone. We appreciate your comments, as they help us improve. We’ll be reviewing how we communicate distance and duration more clearly in the app and on our listings, so future players know what to expect before they begin. Warm regards, The Questo Team
The starting point is 30 minutes outside the old town, would be helpful if that were explicitly mentioned in the description. Too bad we were really looking forward to it.
Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback! Es tut uns leid, dass der Startpunkt weiter außerhalb lag als erwartet. Wir werden unsere Beschreibung entsprechend anpassen und hoffen, Sie geben uns bei Gelegenheit noch eine Chance.
Don’t bother. The directions are obscure. The story is nonsensical. The history is ridiculous. The points of interest are frivolous.
Sorry to hear the experience wasn’t what you expected. 😞 We aim to create fun and engaging adventures, so we appreciate your feedback on the directions, story, and points of interest. We’re always working to improve, and your insights help. If you have specific suggestions, we’d love to hear them!
Great way to see the city and learn about some historic events while playing a game along the way! It was nice to be able to play at your own pace so you could stop along the way and spend more time at certain monuments or pop into shops. Would recommend checking carefully ahead of time how to get to the starting point, as you do have to be in 40m range of the gate to start the game. We walked miles to get there, and then it was nearly 5k playing the game so we were pretty tired by the end! Otherwise, it’s a very cost effective way of learning a bit about the history of the city.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed discovering the city and delving into its history while playing our game. It's great that you appreciated the flexibility to explore the area at your leisure, allowing for stops and extra time at interesting spots. We do recommend checking the location of the starting point in advance to make sure it's easy to reach. It sounds like you covered a lot of ground during your adventure—kudos for your stamina! Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to see you on another quest soon!
