Explore The Da Vinci Code in Paris

Where does fact end and fiction begin in The Da Vinci Code?

Paris Muse offers two in-depth tours to help you decide:

• A private museum tour of the Louvre
• A walking tour of book-related locales in Paris.

Revisit Robert Langdon's adventures by tracing his fictional footsteps in and around the Musée du Louvre. Our private tour begins and ends where his caper does. Of course, the Louvre is much more than simply the setting where much of the breathless action unfolded. Once inside the museum, you and your Paris Muse guide—your own private "symbologist"— will use works of art to explore the provocative ideas in Brown's book.

This is the original Da Vinci Code tour of the Louvre that everyone's been talking about—from BBC's The World, The Insider, The Los Angeles Times, USAToday, NPR's "Weekend Edition", the New York Times, and elsewhere.

Here are just a few of the things you'll learn about in greater depth at the Louvre:

Leonardo da Vinci
Our tour focuses primarily on the life and work of this Renaissance polymath—really one of the book's main characters. We'll study several of his paintings in the Grande Galerie, the actual gallery in the Louvre where the fictional curator Jacques Saunière was found murdered. We’ll discuss hidden symbolism in Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks, St. John the Baptist, and androgyny in his Mona Lisa.

Mary Magdalene
We’ll also delve into the fascinating history of Mary Magdalene by looking at sculptures and paintings that feature her, such as Bronzino's beautiful Noli Me Tangere (depicted). Are there any clues or indications that other artists may have thought of her as the bride of Christ or as an early church leader?

Goddess Imagery
The characters Robert Langdon and Jacques Saunière both specialized in it. Author Dan Brown tells us that Langdon even wrote a book on "the concept of female sanctity and the art and symbols associated with it." So, is there such a thing as the lost sacred feminine in the history of art, and if so, what can the Louvre's collection tell us about it?

"What is history, but a fable agreed upon?" Dan Brown doesn't quote Napoleon's famous quip for nothing; it's one of the main themes of his book. We think that in the history of art, it's the paintings themselves that should have the final word. Join us in your own half-day hunt for the truth.
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The Da Vinci Code Trail

2.5 hour private walking tour.
Rates. €90 per person, with a 2-person minimum.

If you are a group of 4 or more, and would like to request a group rate for the following tours, please email us with your request.This group walking tour traces Da Vinci Code sites in Paris, following the novel’s adventure—from the Hotel Ritz where it all begins, to the Louvre’s underground Inverted Pyramid, where Langdon's search for the sacred feminine ends. Along the way, you'll learn about the history of Paris as we answer many of the questions raised by the book:

Is Mary Magdalene's story really "everywhere once you open your eyes," as Teabing says in the book?
From La Madeleine church to a chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene in Saint Germain-l'Auxerrois, yes, it would seem that she is indeed everywhere in Paris! You'll see these and other signs of the "sacred feminine" in Paris' historic buildings.

Was the Louvre's Grande Galerie really the site of a grisly murder?
Well....we don't know about curators, but there's been more than a few murders at the Louvre over the years. Your guide will tell you about the fascinating history of the Louvre before it was a museum, and the bloody Saint Bartholomew's Massacre (1572) which began there.

Is that really a pagan obelisk in Saint Sulpice?
No, definitely not. The obelisk is part of an astronomical gnomon commissioned by the church in the 18th-century to calculate religious holidays such as Easter. Your guide will tell more about how this device works when you visit the church where Silas murdered Sister Sandrine.
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From our Clients:
We recently were on a "Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre"tour, and we were all totally amazed by our guide Stephanie. She truly was delightful through the entire experience. We were so amazed by her knowledge of the Louvre and how she was able to weave the history of the art collections to the book. All our other tours paled in comparison. Stephanie's many different perspectives of all the pieces we were shown were truly inspiring. It was so obvious how she genuinely loved each work. The next time I'm in Paris, I will use Paris Muse as we were all so totally impressed with the tour. I can't stop talking about it!

Jim Singer,
New Jersey
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