Paris Muse :: Press Release: "Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre"

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Press Release: "Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre"

Paris Muse announced today the debut of "Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre," the latest addition to the group's program of private guided tours of the museums of Paris.

PARIS, FRANCE, February 2 -- In the 42 weeks that The Da Vinci Code has dominated as New York Times bestseller, a growing number of fans have taken their dog-eared copies of the controversial thriller to Paris, tracing the book's action in their own hunt for the truth. The phenomenon has minted a new generation of Parisophiles, creating fresh interest in the city's art and history.

A new tour by Paris Muse satisfies the curiosity of readers who want to know one thing: Where does the truth stop and the fiction begin? The art historians at Paris Muse have designed "Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre" to help Grail-seekers draw their own conclusions.

"When the 30th client asked me about hidden symbolism in Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks, I realized there was a growing interest out there in exploring the book in greater depth," said Paris Muse director Ellen McBreen. "It turns out that the Louvre is the ideal place to do this. One of the book's characters quotes Napoleon's famous quip, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?' But in the history of art, it is the works themselves that should have the final say."

Much of the book's action takes place in Paris, starting with the murder of a curator in the Louvre. Harvard professor Robert Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu are drawn further into the case as they discover revealing clues and riddles hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. But working against them is a shadowy enemy who will stop at nothing to safeguard the shocking historical secret they threaten to expose.

The tour revisits many of those adventures by tracing Langdon and Neveu's fictional footsteps in and around the Musée du Louvre. It begins and ends where their caper does. Along the way, the tour uses works of art to explore the book's provocative proposals.

The tour covers key settings like the Grande Galerie as well as paintings that figure prominently in the story. It includes a visit to Leonardo's Mona Lisa and a discussion of the competing theories about her real identity. But it also takes visitors off the beaten path, to see lesser-known Louvre treasures that deal directly with the book's other themes. Does early Christian art really recycle symbols from so-called "pagan" traditions? Is there such a thing as the "lost sacred feminine" in the history of art? Are there clues about Mary Magdalene's true relationship with Christ in the countless paintings and sculpture that depict her?

Practical Information
"Cracking The Da Vinci Code at the Louvre" is available for reservation for tours taking place on or after February 6, 2004. The tour is private and arranged at the client's convenience. Paris Muse accommodates groups only of four or fewer.

The tour is approximately 2.5 hours. It begins at the Arc du Carrousel with a brief 20-minute walking tour of the area around the Louvre. The rest of the tour takes place inside the museum. The price of is €110 for individuals, or €95 per person for parties of two or more, and includes admission tickets to the Louvre, purchased by the guides in advance, so there is no waiting in line.

About Paris Muse
Paris Muse is an educational service designed especially for English speakers who want to make the most of their museum visits in Paris. It is an organization of dynamic, engaging specialists offering high-quality tours to individuals and small groups of four or fewer.

Since Paris Muse debuted in May 2002, the company has given over 500 tours to Anglophone visitors to Paris. McBreen and her guides are Americans, many of them researching their Ph.D. dissertations in Paris or teaching art history to undergraduates here.

"It's great to see a character like Langdon become so popular, because he makes the job of the academic art historian look sexy and adventurous," she says. "We might not be 'Harrison Ford in Harris tweed' but we certainly know the Louvre inside and out. And we know how to make it fun and accessible too."

For more Information
Please visit www.parismuse.com for more information, or visit these links for specific details: