Vienna Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt & Walking Tour: History&Gossip
Description
You're walking through Vienna thinking: wow, there's so much to see. But how do you take the best stories home with you? Our self-guided scavenger hunt isn't your typical sightseeing loop — it's an app-based discovery game through Vienna's Old Town. With your smartphone, you solve riddles in hidden corners, spot details that even many locals walk right past, and stumble onto stories you won't find in the usual tourist brochures. Stories worth taking home!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your adventure at Schwedenplatz and find out why Vienna was an important port city in the Middle Ages.
Why does a nightlife district right in the heart of Vienna share its name with a mysterious zone in the Atlantic? The answer is funny and a little bit eerie at the same time.
It looks unassuming, but it's the oldest surviving church in Vienna. What stood here before it is another story — one you'll uncover during the scavenger hunt.
Every day at 12 noon, people from all over the world gather in front of this Art Nouveau clock and wait. But what happens next comes with a catch: the clock was actually built for an audience that vanished long ago.
It was actually meant to have two towers of equal height, but the north tower simply never got finished back in 1511. Why not? There's a legend about that — and it ends in a pact with the devil. And that's far from the only secret the Steffl is hiding. We've lined up quite a bit of history (and a few good stories) for you.
A medieval tree trunk, studded all over with nails, behind glass in the middle of the city. Every journeyman locksmith passing through was once required to hammer in a nail. But why, exactly? The answer has something to do with the devil.
What looks today like a Baroque work of art on the Graben was originally made entirely of wood — a reminder that Vienna was once a city where corpses were counted every day. And Vienna's most elegant shopping street still bears the name of the charcoal merchants who once sold their wares here. Legend has it that Emperor Franz Joseph even had the windows of the Hofburg nailed shut so he wouldn't have to look at the modern building at the end of the street. Curious? We'll take you there — and you can see for yourself.
2,600 rooms spread across 18 wings — and deep beneath them, a labyrinth of passageways and cellars. What was decided here over the centuries changed Europe.
The square was actually never finished — the planned northwest wing is still missing to this day. And it's precisely that open side that reveals the view onto Parliament, City Hall and the Burgtheater. One of the grandest views in the whole city.
Highlights
What's included
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Sights are viewed from the outside only, so no admission fees are included.
- Personal guide: the scavenger hunt is self-guided via your phone.
