A few weeks ago, I did an urban rally in Vieux-Nice with Citeamup. Citeamup is a website that organises dynamic activities in every city in France, whether you’re a group, a family, a group of friends, a company or even on your own.
When I was approached about this activity, I’d never heard of an urban rally, but I had a vague idea of what it might be like. As someone who loves treasure hunts, setting out to conquer… I wasn’t disappointed.
1. What is an urban rally?
It’s an activity that combines a photo rally, orienteering, challenges and riddles to be solved in one of France’s cities. The idea is to (re) discover a town through its heritage and architecture by looking for signposts, i.e. statues, monuments, fountains, viewpoints, etc.
The more tags you find, the more points you score. Some tags may represent more points than others.
As I live in Nice, it was obvious that I should take part in the Nice urban rally, which takes place in the old part of the city and around the Château. This historic part of the city was a real playground for 1h30 where I was able to discover new alleyways, new places that I don’t usually explore, new façades… and that was the aim 🙂 I’m so used to my good addresses in old Nice like Bocca Nissa or Cave du Cours. Suffice to say that this game has allowed me to rediscover Vieux-Nice from a whole new angle!
2. How does it work?
- Citeamup will send you booklets containing the rules of the game, a map of Vieux-Nice where the markers are located and the riddles for each marker.
- Form teams if there are several of you (it’s more stimulating)
- Keep an eye on the map of the area, use your sense of direction as the map doesn’t have any street names on it and then set off to find the markers in the order you want. Be careful, you only have an hour and a half to find all the markers. Sport guaranteed!
- Each time you go to the location of a marker, be sure to decipher the riddle. Once you’ve found the marker, photograph it. Remember, the beacons have different points. So be clever on your way.
- Take up the extra challenge: find the mystery marker, mark its location on the map and win 30 extra points.
- Make sure you get to the finish point on the map before the time runs out, otherwise you’ll be penalised.
3. The highlights of this urban rally
- Autonomy! There’s no need for a guide, you’re free and independent throughout the game.
- The urban rally allows you to discover a city you don’t know (its history, its monuments, its architecture….). And for those who already live in the city in question, it allows you to discover new alleyways that you’re not used to frequenting, to see things from another angle…. and it’s good to have that touch of novelty.
- The game combines sport and thinking. You run around trying to find as many beacons as possible, but you also have to rack your brains to solve each puzzle.
- It’s a game experience that builds team cohesion through dialogue and individual commitment to the collective.
I’d like to thank Citeamup for giving me the opportunity to discover urban rallies, where I had a lot of fun re-discovering Old Nice with my friends.
