United States of America · Storytelling Tours

Manhattan Secret Societies Quest Experience in New York

2 Hours Round trip from New York Easy pace

The journey

Trip highlights
  • 01 Explore Midtown Manhattan through a self-guided city quest
  • 02 Solve clues and challenges at each location
  • 03 See landmarks like Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center
  • 04 Discover hidden stories, urban legends, and secret corners of NYC
  • 05 Visit Tannen's, the oldest magic shop in New York
  • 06 Find the unusual 6 1/2 Avenue passage through Midtown
  • 07 Play offline with no internet connection needed
  • 08 Start anytime and explore at your own pace

Discover Midtown Manhattan through a self-guided quest that blends urban legends, local history, and puzzle-solving. Follow clues through some of New York’s most famous streets and landmarks, from Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library to the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the hidden 6 1/2 Avenue.

Along the way, you’ll uncover stories behind iconic sites, spot lesser-known corners of the city, and visit places tied to magic, music, architecture, and secret Midtown lore. Play at your own pace using the app, with the flexibility to pause and resume whenever you like.

Discover Midtown Manhattan through a self-guided quest that blends urban legends, local history, and puzzle-solving.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 2 Hours
Tour type Private
Activity level Easy
Accommodation Not included
Transport Not included
Wheelchair access No
City New York
Languages English

Day by day

The itinerary

1
Day 01

Grand Central Terminal was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad; it also served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and, later, successors to the New York Central. Opened in 1913, the terminal was built on the site of two similarly-named predecessor stations, the first of which dates to 1871.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.The library, officially chartered as The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, was developed in the 19th century, founded from an amalgamation of grass-roots libraries and social libraries of bibliophiles and the wealthy, aided by the philanthropy of the wealthiest Americans of their age.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Tannen's has a long, rich history and is the oldest magic store in New York. Can you fill us in on this? Tannen's was started by Louis Tannen in 1925, originally as kind of a stand on the street to sell magic. Very quickly, within five or six years, he decided that wasn't an easy or enjoyable way to sell magic.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Herald Square had its beginnings in 1846, when the city acquired the area for the extension of Bloomingdale Road, now Broadway. Its name comes from an architecturally distinctive building that once sat at the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue: The New York Herald Building.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Between 1839 and 1900, it was the site of the Croton Reservoir and Reservoir Square, renamed Bryant Park in honor of William Cullen Bryant in 1884. The construction of the adjacent New York Public Library between 1897 and 1912 coincided with the removal of the reservoir.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater which opened in 1907 at 111 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Radio City Music Hall was completed in 1932 as part of the larger development of Rockefeller Center. It was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style, with Samuel Lionel Rothafel, or “Roxy,” a leading expert on movie palaces, as a primary advisor.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.John D. Rockefeller Jr's vision was for Rockefeller Center to be a place where New Yorkers could come and surround themselves with art and motifs that celebrated the best of the human spirit. Today, his vision has been spectacularly realized, giving you the opportunity to come and discover and be inspired by it all.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.The origins of St. Patrick's Cathedral dates to the middle of the 19th century to the year 1853. That year, John Joseph Hughes, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, announced his intention to build a larger, more modern cathedral to accommodate the city's rapidly growing Catholic population.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Currently the only street with a fractioned number in New York City, 6 1/2 Avenue was given its official signposts in July 2012 by the Department of Transportation. The secret street was already well known to midtown workers who had long used the public spaces between 57th and 51st to cut through the city, avoiding having to walk around to 6th or 7th Avenue.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.Experience New York's Iconic Luxury Hotel on Central Park South. Since its debut on October 1, 1907, The Plaza Hotel has remained a New York icon hosting world leaders, dignitaries, captains of industry, Broadway legends, and Hollywood royalty.

Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.The year 1948 started the mambo craze that spread across the United States. It began at the Palladium Ballroom. At its height, the Palladium attracted Hollywood and Broadway stars, especially on Wednesday nights, which included a free dance lesson.City Center was built as a Shriners temple; when the Shriners could no longer afford to pay the taxes owed on the facility during the Depression, the building became the property of New York City. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia decided to turn the building into a theater for music and dance.Pulitzer Fountain is an outdoor fountain located in Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza in New York. The fountain is named after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer who died in 1911 having bequeathed $50,000 for the creation of the fountain.

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

  • Full flexibility: start at any hour, take a break at any time and resume later
  • This tour is always available to book. We are open 24/7, every day of the week.
  • Play offline: you DON'T NEED an internet connection to play this city game
  • Free for KIDS

What's Not Included

A physical tour guide

Know before you go

  • STROLLER OR PRAM ACCESSIBLE
  • ANIMALS OR PETS ALLOWED
  • PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEARBY
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Infants must not sit on laps
  • Infant seats unavailable
  • - Unlock your city game in the Questo app using this link:
  • - Head to the starting point and enjoy your city game!

Logistics

Meeting & route

Meeting point
New York, US
Tour start
New York, US
Tour ends at the same location as the start point.
End of the journey

Your 2 hours finish where they began, in New York.

Watch the tourHQ film Watch the film

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