On the Da Vinci Trail

On the Da Vinci Code Trail
Deanna MacDonald
Globe and Mail, May 17, 2006

Why do people visit the Louvre? The art? The history? These days the answer is likely to be “to see where curator Jacques Saunière was murdered.” Like other setting for Dan Brown’s wildly popular book, “The Da Vinci Code,” Paris is enjoying a tourist boom as fans of the book try to follow in Robert Langdon’s footsteps (who, for the 7 people left who have not read the book, is the book’s hero).

“There has never before been a book or movie before that has increased the number of visitors to the Louvre,” said Élodie Berta of the Paris Tourist Board. “It has changed the way people visit Paris: they go to the Louvre to see La Joconde, to the Ritz where Langdon stayed, to all the places mentioned in the book. It is amazing: there are now around 20 tour companies offering specific Da Vinci Code tours.”

And Paris is not alone in its Da Vinci Code phenomenon. Other places where the book and upcoming film (to be released May 19th) are set, such as London, Lincoln and Edinburgh, are enjoying similar booms. What is it about ‘The Da Vinci Code’ that inspires a traveller to plan a trip based around a recent bestseller rather than on centuries of culture? How does a well-crafted, though slightly cheesy, thriller alter the well-established order of European tourism?

As I followed this (unofficial) Da Vinci Code trail in March, it seemed that the answer partially lies in the fact that the book, whatever its literary merits, has some Europe’s most iconic and fascinating places as its settings: Paris, London, the Louvre, Westminster Abbey. These are places everyone wants to see anyhow. Other places, like Rosslyn Chapel, Temple Church and Lincoln, are less famous but prove just as fascinating to those who make the effort to visit. Dan Brown has managed to stuff all those centuries of culture into the backdrop for a page-turning murder mystery, and the result is a tourism renaissance from Paris to Scotland.

And with 40 million copies in 44 languages sold, there can be few more common cultural touch points in the world today. I must admit to a frisson of “it’s a small, small world” as I stood before the Mona Lisa surrounded by a babble of foreign languages, many of which were not discussing the merits of Leonardo’s sfumato, but whether the real picture was used in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ movie (it isn’t). However, the film was shot in the Louvre, a rare privilege supported by the French Minister of Culture. But even before the film is released, the Da Vinci Code effect is being felt in the Louvre. Visitors are up by more than a half a million since 2004. Crowds now gather around the Louvre’s two Caravaggio’s trying to figure out exactly where the curator was killed. Leonardo’s “Madonna on the Rocks,” that holds an important clue in the book, now receives extra scrutiny. Perhaps most oddly, visitors gather on a staircase in the Denon wing to snap a picture of a small bronze circle on the floor marked “Arago,” marking the “Rose Line,” an historic meridian line, integral to the book’s plot.

From the Louvre, fans head to the rive-gauche and another of the book’s settings: the church of St. Sulpice. I must admit that I was grateful to Dan Brown for bringing me to this lovely corner of the Paris – the narrow streets of Ste-Germaine filled with chic boutiques, historic churches and existentialist cafes - and to the lesser-known St. Sulpice. Despite its paintings by Delacroix and fame as a spot where Robespierre spoke and Victor Hugo married, tourists have generally ignored this impressive 17th-century church. No longer. It now sees a steady stream of visitors; so many in fact, that the church has felt the need to add a disclaimer, in French and English, that: “Contrary to the fanciful allegations of a recent best selling novel, this is not the vestige of a pagan temple…”.

Even the hotel where Robert Langdon stayed, the venerable Hotel Ritz, where Coco Chanel, Proust and Hemingway have stayed, has felt the effects. “We do get requests for Robert Langdon’s room,” said Linda Karimi of the Ritz. The hotel has responded with a special da Vinci Code package featuring a night in the room where the film was shot (#512). For a book full of - as the rector of St. Sulpice says - “fanciful allegations,” perhaps the most farfetched is that Robert Langdon, a university professor, could afford to stay in this luxurious hotel. “Well,” said Ms. Karimi with a laugh, “I guess he could if he had the corporate rate!”

The Da Vinci Code chase moves from Paris to London (Eurostar employees have apparently found over 1000 copies of the Da Vinci Code left behind on the train) and so did I, where I was guided around the city on a Da Vinci Code tour. We began at the elegant, 12th-century Temple Church (www.templechurch.com), which is tucked into a small square near the London Law Courts in the City. Once the headquarters of the Knights Templar, today it has found notoriety as a Da Vinci Code setting, which is why most Friday afternoons at 1pm, the Master (Rector) of Temple Church, Robin Griffith-Jones, gives a talk/sermon on the book. At least 100 Da Vinci Code fans filled the pews the day I was there to learn what the Church of England thought about the Da Vinci Code’s tale of Jesus and Mary Magdalene (I won’t spoil the ending…).

The tours continued on to the National Gallery to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks (a second version of the one in Paris) and to the rarely visited, modern church of Notre Dame de France just off of Leicester Square. It was decorated in the 1950s by Jean Cocteau, who, in the Da Vinci Code, is listed as a Prior of Sion and our guide did her best convince us of the secret codes in Cocteau’s paintings.

At Westminster Abbey, that Gothic masterpiece where Queens are crowned and the famed buried, we learned about the showdown between the Da Vinci Code heroes and the “Teacher” in the Abbey’s round Chapter House. Not for the first time, I was struck by the oddness of fictional tourism – surrounded by a 1000 years of real history, I was following in the footsteps of imaginary characters, as were many others that day; I saw several people wandering the Abbey with guidebooks such as “The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code.’ This despite the fact that Westminster Abbey has decided to keep its distance from the Da Vinci Code phenomenon and did not allow the film to be shot in the Abbey.

This refusal however opened up a whole new branch of Da Vinci Code tourism in the lovely town of Lincoln, about 2 hours north of London. Dating back to Roman times, Lincoln was one of medieval England’s richest cities and has the cathedral (www.lincolncathedral.com) to prove it. So magnificent in fact that Lincoln Cathedral was the stand in for Westminster Abbey in the film and in the summer of 2005 the Da Vinci Code’s cast and crew descended on Lincoln and nothing has been quite the same since.

“There was a lot of debate about allowing the filming,” said cathedral verger, John Campbell, “but in the end, there are so many benefits,” from stimulating interest in the cathedral and discussions on the Christian faith to a boost in the local economy. The cathedral will offer “Da Vinci Code” tours and has a small exhibit about the filming. The White Hart Hotel, a charming 14th-century coaching inn standing near the cathedral’s glorious façade, was home to cast and crew during filming and now happily fields frequent requests for Tom Hank’s or Ian McKellen’s room. Local restaurants where the stars ate are enjoying a thriving business.

Lincoln is also a great base to explore the nearby country manor houses used in the film as the papal summer retreat, Castel Gandolfo (The real Castel, found 30km outside of Rome, was not involved with the film, as, unsurprisingly, the Vatican is not a fan of the book). The turreted, neo-Gothic Belvoir (bizarrely pronounced ‘beaver’ – www.belvoircastle.com) Castle stood in for its exterior and the spectacular Burgley House (www.burghley.co.uk) as the interior. Both are open to visitors and happy to discuss their role in the film. Grand Elizabethan-era Burghley House is even offering its own mystery tour, “The Burghley Code,” in which visitors look for clues as they tour its stately, masterpiece-filled rooms.

My last stop was in Scotland at the intriguing Rosslyn Chapel (www.rosslynchapel.org.uk) in a tiny village 20 minutes outside of Edinburgh. This extraordinary 15th-century chapel covered in sculpted figures and flora has always had a mysterious reputation - legends claim that the Holy Grail was hidden here. Still, the number of visitors has doubled every year since The Da Vinci Code’s publication (from approximately 37,000 in 2003 to 120,000 in 2005) as fans look for the Templar, Freemasonry and Rosicrucian symbols on its walls. The number of visitors is expected to rise again after the film’s release and in preparation a small visitor’s centre has been added and the gift shop is packed with books on the Da Vinci Code. Is there a downside to this sudden popularity? “Not really,” said Rosslyn Chapel guide, Colin Valentine, who nevertheless seemed somewhat mystified by the world’s sudden fascination with Rosslyn. “The money [£7 admission] goes into the church [which badly needs restoration], and people come to the village. It’s all good.”

Back in my hotel room in Edinburgh’s sumptuous Balmoral Hotel – which has also jumped on the Dan Brown bandwagon, offering a luxurious Da Vinci Code package – I contemplated the Da Vinci Code tourism phenomenon. Take a book jam-packed with amazing locations, conspiracy theories and controversial ideas, add a bit of word of mouth and a whole lot of hype and, voila, a tourism boon is born. But just because the inspiration is fictional doesn’t mean the locations are any less worthy. Much as medieval pilgrims wanted to see the Holy Land, or Grand Tourists the artworks of the Italian renaissance, today’s travellers want to see the places that everyone is taking about. And nothing is more talked of these days (and in 44 languages) than “The Da Vinci Code.”

IF YOU GO
Paris:
There are several Paris tour companies offering Da Vinci Code tours, such as Paris Vision Plus (214 rue de Rivoli, Paris, +33 (0)1 42 60 30 01, www.parisvision.com). The Louvre (www.louvre.fr) itself does not offer Da Vinci Code tours.

For more information on Da Vinci Code tourism in France, contact the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (+33 (0)8 92 68 30 00, www.parisinfo.com) or the French Government Tourist Office, Maison de la France (1981 McGill College Ave, suite 490, Montreal, 514-876-9881, www.franceguide.com).

The Ritz Paris (+33 01 43 16 32 96, www.ritzparis.com) offers a Da Vinci Code package, including a night in “Robert Langdon’s” room, for €670.

Fans with more money to spend can drop a cool €3900-€4300 per person for 5 nights at Chateau de Villette, the residence of the character Sir Leigh Teabing, which was also used in the film. See www.frenchvacation.com/daVinciCodeTour.htm, for details.

London:
Da Vinci Code tours are offered by several companies such as Golden Tours (+44 (0)20 7233 7030, www.goldentours.co.uk).

For more information on Da Vinci Code tourism in Britain, see the website of the British Tourist Office (www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en-CA/experiences/moviesandbooks/DaVinci_Code_About_Book.aspx).

Lincoln:
The cosy White Hart Hotel (+44 01522 526 222, www.whitehart-lincoln.co.uk) has doubles from £80. Tom Hanks stayed in room 371.

Restaurants where the Da Vinci Code stars ate in Lincoln: Epernay Champagne and Seafood Restaurant (www.epernay-restaurant.com) and The Old Bakery (www.theold-bakery.co.uk). The Old Bakery is also selling a copy of the Da Vinci Code novel signed by the film’s cast and crew on e-bay, with all proceeds going to the children’s ward of the local hospital.

Edinburgh:
The elegant Balmoral Hotel (1 Princes St, Edinburgh, +44 (0) 131 556 2414, www.roccofortehotels.com) is offering a Da Vinci Code package including accommodation, breakfast and a visit to Rosslyn Chapel with a champagne picnic for £455 per room.

Other Da Vinci Code locales:
Fans also make their way to Opus Dei headquarters in NYC and to Papal residences in Italy, the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo, though, unsurprisingly, neither organization seems keen to promote connections to the novel (Opus Dei does offer its opinion on the novel on their website - www.opusdei.org)

To plan your own tour see:
‘The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code’ (2005); or visit Fodor’s website, under ‘tours’: www.fodors.com/wire/archives/cat_tours.cfm