Saunière's Secret
France's most mysterious priest
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In 1891, a poor village priest suddenly became fabulously rich. Bérenger Saunière rebuilt his church with bizarre coded symbols, constructed a medieval tower and a luxurious villa. Where did the money come from? The mystery of Rennes-le-Château has fascinated the world for over a century.
A priest, a treasure, a secret no one has solved
Father Bérenger Saunière arrived in Rennes-le-Château in 1885, in a village of 200 souls perched on a hill in the Aude. The church was crumbling. Six years later, he began colossal renovations, brought in artisans from across France, and filled the church with strange symbols. A devil supports the holy water font. The Stations of the Cross contain deliberate anomalies. Who gave him the money? The Visigoths? The Templars? Mary Magdalene herself?
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
« "Terribilis est locus iste." — This place is terrible. »— — Inscription above the church door, placed by Saunière
Father Saunière — France's richest priest
In 1885, Bérenger Saunière, age 33, was appointed parish priest of Rennes-le-Château, an isolated village in the Corbières. The stipend was meager, the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene was crumbling. But in 1891, during renovation work, Saunière discovered documents hidden in a Visigothic pillar of the altar. He traveled to Paris, met mysterious figures, and returned transformed.
From 1896, he spent lavishly: a complete restoration of the church with a disturbing symbolic decor, construction of the Tour Magdala (a medieval library facing the Pyrenees), the Villa Bethania (a luxurious residence), an exotic garden and orangery. The symbols he had carved into the stone defy classical interpretation: the devil Asmodeus, a reversed black and white checkerboard, deliberately erroneous Stations of the Cross.
Saunière died in 1917, taking his secret to the grave. His servant Marie Dénarnaud, sole heir, lived until 1953 without ever speaking. Theories abound: Visigothic treasure, Templar gold, a dynastic secret of Mary Magdalene, trafficking in masses. Gérard de Sède's book "L'Or de Rennes," published in 1967, launched one of the greatest treasure hunts in French history.
The Route
5 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
Cryptic symbols
Decipher the deliberate anomalies hidden in the church by Saunière himself.
Coded architecture
Tour Magdala, Villa Bethania, Calvary — each building is a clue.
Geography of the secret
Saunière's landscape alignments point to a precise location in the valley.
Historical enigma
Visigoths, Templars, Mary Magdalene — all trails converge here.
This place is terrible — but the secret is magnificent.
Crack Saunière's code before the secret vanishes forever.
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Do I need to download an app?
No, never. You get a link, you click, it plays in your browser. That's the point of a PWA: same as an app, without the hassle.
Q02Does it work offline?
GPS yes (handled by your phone). Maps yes (tiles cached). AI and hints need an intermittent 4G connection.
Q03How long does a game take?
1 h 30 to 2 h 30 depending on your pace. The timer runs but only for the leaderboard — you play at your own tempo.
Q04What happens if I'm stuck?
You get 3 levels of hints per puzzle (increasing penalty). If truly stuck, you can skip the step (45-min penalty but you keep going).
Q05What's the age range?
From 12 without an adult, from 6 with an adult reading puzzles. Works for families, couples, friend groups, companies.
Q06What if my city isn't in the catalogue?
Pre-register or contact us — we'll email you as soon as your city is live.
Q07What is augmented reality exactly?
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language. At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's your answer. After each puzzle solved, a treasure chest floats in front of you. Seeing is believing.
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Your turn to play
From the church of symbols to the Tour Magdala facing the Pyrenees — dive into France's most fascinating mystery, that of a village priest who became a millionaire.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+15 TripCoins granted with your booking
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