Description
Things to do in Maastricht, the Maastricht Tourist Scavenger Hunt is a 5.7 km / 3.54-mile self-guided walking tour with varied challenges. It should take you between 2 and 3 hours to complete, and ends near the start location.
Click here for the Maastricht walking tour and tourist scavenger hunt’s complete tour details, specifications, requirements, and city history. You’ll also find there the complete list of locations seen.
You will see
- Sint Janskerk
- Basilica of St. Servatius
- City Hall
- University of Maastricht
- Plaza Vrijthof
- The Vestingstad
- Helpoort
- Hope Bridge
- Drukkunstmuseum
- Theater at the Vrijthof
- Bonnefanten Museum
- Centre Céramique
- Sint Servaasbrug
We visited and walked this tour in the fall of 2017.
This scavenger hunt has a difficulty level of normal.
The ideal group size is between 2 and 6 people – but is not restricted to this. Children are welcome and will enjoy most of the challenges.
After purchase, to begin your Maastricht walking tour, you will need to head to City Hall / Stadhuis van Maastricht, Markt 78, 6211 CL Maastricht, Netherlands. This is the start location.
Once there, log in to this website and begin your hunt.
Alternatively, you can access “My Account” and follow the instructions there.
Never hesitate to contact us if you experience any difficulties.
Ancient History
Maastricht is a predominantly university city, here in the south of the Netherlands. The city is marked by its medieval-era architecture and vibrant cultural scene. It is also the capital of the province of Limburg. The city spans both sides of the Meuse river (Maas in Dutch) at the point where the Jeker River joins it.
Neanderthal remains have been found to the west of the city, as well as 8,000 to 25,000-year-old Paleolithic remains. Later, Celts lived here around 500 BC along the Meuse river which is shallow. The Romans eventually arrived here and built a bridge over the Meuse in the 1st century AD. Archaeological digs have revealed remains of the Roman road, a Roman Bath, and 4th-century houses. Artifacts from these digs are now on display at the Centre Céramique, which is along this Tourist Scavenger Hunt route.
The Armenian-born Saint Servatius, Bishop of Tongeren, died in Maastricht in 384. He was, in fact, a widely traveled Roman Catholic diplomat whose reputation, over the centuries, became legend. Early biographies indicate he is a descendant of John the Baptist, thus a distant relative of Jesus. This led to the city becoming a major Medieval religious center by 1204 when it was formally incorporated.
In those early times, the city was part of the Carolingian Empire. It was in fact under dual authority: with the prince-bishops of Liège and the dukes of Brabant. After prosperous growth, well into the 15th century, the city suffered during the wars of religion of the 16th and 17th centuries. It didn’t recover fully until the industrial revolution of the early 19th century.
Recent history
Maastricht was taken by the Germans early on during WWII. It was the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces in 1944. Following the war, the city evolved from its pottery-based industries to a service economy. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 led to the creation of the European Union and the Euro.
Elze Stankeviciute –
Thank you for giving us an opportunity to experience your Scavenger Hunt in Maastricht for free. All of the students in my student team really enjoyed it and we are all really thankful for this opportunity. So generally, the app works really well and everything went really smoothly. Also, like you said it would be difficult to see some things in the dark and it was a little, but that’s our fault rather than yours! Otherwise, everything else was ok and we did really have a lot of fun 🙂 For us as locals the hunt only took around 1.5 hours, but that also could be because we knew the area well.
Elze Stankeviciute and the whole UNICEF Student Team Maastricht, 17 November 2018
Adrie Kramer –
***** (5 stars on TripAdvisor)
A lot of fun to do. Seen a lot of the old culture of Maastricht. It is highly recommended. And with the assignments make it even more fun
Adrie, 7 February 2020
Anne Habben Jansen –
*** (3 stars on Trip Advisor)
Always nice to walk and learn a city in a play-manner and this one fulfill s that. We have missed the wow-factor. Not everything is correct anymore. In my view, it needs an update.
Anne, 21 June 2020
Andreas Hasler –
**** (4 stars on TripAdvisor)
It was very historical and interesting. Where the scavenger hunt took us was very beautiful. Please fix the
speed of the website.
Andreas, 7 July 2020
Roel van der Laan –
**** (4 stars given)
Achieved 640 points in 2 hours 20 minutes
Roel v., July 31, 2020
Elianne Van Geerenstein –
***** (5 stars given)
Achieved 700 points in 2 hours 54 minutes
Elianne V., August 6, 2020
Ruth Heuter –
*** (3 stars given)
Achieved 750 points in 6 hours 2 minutes
Ruth H., August 29, 2020
Peter Wijgerse –
*** (3 stars on TripAdvisor)
Overall fun, hampered by some errors in navigation, lots of questions are basic. Nice info on history.
Peter, 29 September 2020
Simon Van Dalen –
* (1 star given)
Achieved 690 points in 3 hours 56 minutes
Simon V., October 28, 2020
Menno Heijn –
*** (3 stars given)
Achieved 580 points in 3 hours
Menno H., May 30, 2021
Ian Darnbrook –
** (2 stars on Trip Advisor)
Ian D, 10 July, 2022
We were about a quarter of the way through the self-guided tour when the route details disappeared from my phone. Up to that point, it was very interesting. I feel that as I was inputting answers into the tour app I should have been able to retrieve them but I would have had to pay again, download it again and start again
titantourisme –
Thank you for your feedback. It sounds like your phone ran out of battery, or you accidentally logged out. Returning to MyAccount and clicking on your scavenger hunt to open it up again would have returned you to where you were, so you can continue from there. Reminder, this is not an app and there is nothing to download.
– September 28 update – we have completely reviewed this tour and improved it, solving a few issues and adding more challenges. It is also now available in French