The reveal
Mark names all four cities and walks you to the hidden spot the final clue was pointing at.
The clues
Clue 1
Released Monday 24 August
Watch the first clue in the language you're learning.
Clue 2
Released Wednesday 26 August
Watch the second clue in the language you're learning.
Clue 3
Released Friday 28 August
Watch the third clue in the language you're learning.
Clue 4
Released Sunday 30 August
Watch the fourth clue in the language you're learning.
Every clue explained
All four clues read out line by line, with each one unpicked as we go.
The bonus clues
Alongside each poem we sent out a second, plainer clue: how far the new city is from the one before it, and roughly which way you would travel to get there.
Distances are as the crow flies, and the directions are approximate.
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Clue 1
Glasgow to the first city
Approximately 2,100 km (1,300 miles), heading south-east
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Clue 2
First city to the second
Approximately 1,500 km (950 miles), heading due west
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Clue 3
Second city to the third
Approximately 1,000 km (600 miles), heading east-north-east
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Clue 4
Third city to the fourth
Approximately 600 km (400 miles), heading north-east
Questions
What is the Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt?
A free adventure we run once a year. Mark follows a trail of clues across Europe and you come with him: four clues over a week, each one pointing at a city it never names. Your job is to work out where.
Who can take part?
Everyone. You don't have to be a Coffee Break customer, and there's no travel involved. It all happens on this page, on our podcast feeds and on our YouTube channels.
How do I take part?
Watch or listen to each clue as it appears, on Monday 24 August, Wednesday 26 August, Friday 28 August and Sunday 30 August, all at 1pm UK. Work out the city each one describes and write it down somewhere safe.
Hang on to your answers until the end. All four cities go in together on a single form once the last clue is out, so there's nothing to do after each individual clue and no need to reply to the emails with your guesses.
Are the clues the same in each language?
The four cities are the same whichever language you follow, but the clues themselves aren't translations. Each one is written from scratch by that language's team so it rhymes and reads properly, which means the imagery can differ even though the answer doesn't. If you're learning more than one, watching two versions isn't cheating. It might even help.
Is there a version for other languages?
This year it's French, Italian, German and Spanish. We may add others in future years.
What level of language do I need?
The clues sit at around intermediate level, but don't let that put you off. Each episode gives you plenty of support along the way, and the cities are all places you're likely to have heard of.
Is there a bonus clue?
There is one for each city: roughly how far it is from the city before, and which way you'd be heading. They went out by email with each clue, and they're all on this page now, in the bonus clues box below the videos.
What do I win?
Everyone who names all four cities correctly gets a free month on Coffee Break TV, our on-demand video platform, in the language of their choice. The free month is September, so it begins as soon as the hunt finishes rather than being a month you pick.
Correct entries also go into a prize draw for the complete collection of Coffee Break courses in that language. There is one winner drawn for each of the four languages.
I'm already a Coffee Break TV member. Can I still win?
Yes. If you get all four cities right we add an extra month to your existing membership, rather than handing you a month you already have.
One thing to be aware of: we can only do this for members billed directly by Coffee Break TV. If you subscribed through the iOS or Android app, Apple or Google handle your billing and we cannot change your renewal date from our side.
Not sure which you have? On the website rather than in the app, click your profile picture in the top right and open the Purchases tab. If your subscription is listed as "(App) Coffee Break Club", you signed up through an app store.
How do I submit my entry?
The entry form appears on this page when the fourth clue arrives on Sunday 30 August, and not before. All four cities go in on that one form, so please don't send answers as you go or reply to the clue emails with them, as those can't be counted.
Once the form's open you've got until 8am UK on Tuesday 1 September to send it. One entry each, please.
Is there a cost?
None. All we ask for is your curiosity.
Can I do it with friends, or with my class?
Please do. Solving the clues together is half the fun. Entries and prizes are individual though, so everyone taking part needs to send their own form.
When are the cities revealed?
Mark reveals all four, and the hidden spot the final clue points to, live on this page on Tuesday 1 September at 4pm UK. A second video on Wednesday 2 September goes back through every clue line by line and explains how each one worked.
I'm a teacher doing this with my class. Do I qualify for the free month?
You do. Tick the teacher box on the entry form. We'd love to hear how you use the free month with your students.
Terms and conditions
1. Eligibility and entry
1.1. To take part in The Great Coffee Break Treasure Hunt 2026 ("the Competition"), participants must complete and submit the official entry form, giving their name, the language they are learning, their email address, and their guesses for all four mystery locations.
1.2. Each participant may submit only one entry.
2. Submission deadline
2.1. All entries must be received by 8am UK / 3am Eastern on Tuesday 1 September 2026. Entries submitted after this time will not be eligible.
3. Entry requirements
3.1. To qualify, entries must give the correct names of the four specific cities. A country name on its own, without the city, will be marked as incorrect. Entries should be written in English, and only the city should be given.
4. Prize and redemption
4.1. Participants who correctly identify all four locations ("Successful Participants") and who are not existing members of Coffee Break TV will be awarded a free subscription to Coffee Break TV for the month of September 2026, giving unlimited access to its library of video content in French, German, Spanish or Italian. Participants indicate their preferred language on the entry form.
4.2. Successful Participants who already hold an active Coffee Break TV membership will have one additional month added to that membership. This can only be applied to memberships billed directly by Coffee Break TV. Where a subscription was taken out through the iOS or Android app, billing is handled by Apple or Google and the renewal date cannot be altered by us.
4.3. Participants will be notified by email at the address given on their entry form, and will receive instructions on how to redeem their prize.
4.4. To redeem the prize, Successful Participants must create an account on Coffee Break TV.
4.5. The prize is non-transferable, non-exchangeable, and has no cash value.
5. Subscription details
5.1. New subscribers redeeming the free month may be asked for payment card details on redemption. No charge is incurred, provided the coupon code instructions are followed.
5.2. After the free month, subscriptions renew automatically at USD $24.99 (or local equivalent) per month. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. To make sure no payment is taken after the free month, the subscription must be cancelled.
6. Prize draw
6.1. Successful Participants are automatically entered into a prize draw for the chance to win all current courses available in their chosen language from the Coffee Break Academy.
6.2. There will be four winners in total. Successful Participants are grouped by the language given on their entry, and one winner is drawn at random from each language group (French, German, Italian, Spanish).
6.3. Winners will be announced by email and in the reveal video published on Tuesday 1 September 2026.
6.4. Winners must respond to the notification email within 7 days. Unclaimed prizes may be reallocated or withheld at our discretion.
6.5. The prize draw prize includes all current courses available on the Coffee Break Academy in the chosen language, excluding future publications and certain cohort-based courses. It also includes lifetime membership of Coffee Break TV for that language.
6.6. The courses excluded are: any course not yet published, the Coffee Break French Masterclass, the Coffee Break Spanish Masterclass, the Coffee Break Italian Masterclass, and Guided Learning: La penúltima voluntad.
7. Disqualification
7.1. We reserve the right to disqualify any entrant or withdraw any prize if the entrant is found to engage in unsafe, illegal, inappropriate or unsociable behaviour.
8. Additional terms
8.1. Courses will be added to winners' accounts within seven days of the draw.
8.2. The decision of Coffee Break Languages is final and binding in all matters relating to the Competition.
9. Your email address
9.1. The email address given on the entry form is used to confirm that we have received the entry, to let the participant know the result, and to send redemption instructions to Successful Participants.
9.2. Participants who tick the newsletter box on the entry form are also added to the Coffee Break Languages email list. This is optional, it is not a condition of entry, and it can be stopped at any time using the unsubscribe link on any email we send.
9.3. Participants who leave that box unticked are emailed only about the Competition.