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Paris: the filming locations of The Da Vinci Code
Da Vinci Code, filming in the streets of Paris
From the Louvre to the Ritz and the Church of Saint Sulpice, Paris is at the centre of the action in The Da Vinci Code.
Pyramid of the Louvre, the enigma of The Da Vinci Code solved
Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) visits the Louvre twice. First of all at the beginning of the story, when the curator is found murdered inside the museum, with strange symbols near his body. Then, at the end for the plot’s denouement. It is here, under a stone reproduction, that Mary Magdalene’s tomb is supposed to be hidden. Following the book and then the film, many people thought that this story was real, because of the concordance between the dates and the historical facts. Small precision however, the pyramid does not count 666 but 689 facets. Jacques Chirac intervened with the Louvre Museum to obtain the necessary authorizations for Ron Howard to film there at night. A large part of the scenes were filmed in the studio, however, to avoid putting the works of art at risk.
Address: Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Saint-Sulpice Church
In his quest for the Holy Grail, Silas (Paul Bettany) comes looking for the keystone. But this church is not, until proven otherwise, built on the ruins of a pagan temple. And the meridian passing through it has nothing to do with how it is used in the book. It is actually the Observatory’s. Built in the seventeenth century and with foundations dating from the twelfth century, the church of Saint-Sulpice is one of the largest churches in Paris, but its architecture was long disapproved of by Parisians.
Address: 2 rue Palatine, 75006 Paris
Zurich Deposit Bank
After deducing that the mysterious key in Sophie Neveu’s (Audrey Tautou) possession was that of a safety deposit box, the address engraved on it brings Robert and the young woman to this bank. If we look carefully, we realize that there is a problem of concordance since the engraved mention is “24 Haxo” and the street sign on the screen indicates 24 rue de Mayo. The scene was shot in the Nissim de Camondo Museum, a museum of decorative arts inaugurated in 1936.
Address: 63 rue de Monceau, 75008 Paris
Hotel Ritz, the hotel of The Da Vinci Code
Professor Langdon is staying at this hotel. This is his starting point to follow the invisible line of the meridian and thus discover the tomb of Mary Magdalene. The Hotel Ritz is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, an adjective that is also appropriate for the Place Vendôme where it is located. Dan Brown’s eponymous novel was released in March 2003 in the United States and was so successful that Columbia bought the rights to it in June of that year. Well done, since the film had a total of $850 million in revenue!
Address: 15 place Vendôme, 75001 Paris
Apartment of Silas
Silas’ apartment is on the second to last floor, at the corner of the building at 7 Becquerel Street. This building had a famous occupant in the person of the painter Salvator Dali who lived, during some time, in an apartment lent by Paul Éluard. Clovis Cornillac was contacted to play the role of the character, but he declined, being already engaged on the shooting of Brigades du Tigre.
Address: 7 rue Becquerel, 75018 Paris
United States Embassy
While Sophie wants Robert to go to her embassy, a police roadblock awaits them on the spot, leading them to turn back. The real U.S. Embassy is located at 2 avenue Colbert in the 8th arrondissement. The fountain on this square was originally larger to allow horses to drink from it. It was dismantled in 1906, when the metro was built, and replaced by another one in 1911. It is part of the monument to Gavarni, erected in memory of the satirical cartoonist Paul Gavarni (1804-1866).
Address: 28 place Saint-Georges, 75009 Paris
The Fantrippers Buying Board
The Paris guide to the 1000 cult places of films, series, music, comics and novels
The coolest guide in Paris!
The café of Amélie, the mansion of Untouchables, the jazz club of the finale of La La Land, the Hôtel du Nord of the mythical replica of Arletty “Atmosphere”, the cinema of A bout de souffle, the restaurant of Ratatouille, the quays of the Seine of Midnight in Paris, the secret places of the Da Vinci Code, the grocery store of January in La Traversée de Paris , the Bridge of Inception and Peur sur la ville, the addresses of the spectacular scenes of Mission Impossible 6, but also series Call my agent, Gears, Le Bureau des légendes, Sense8, Sex and The City, Gossip Girl…
Etienne Daho’s Café de Flore, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s hotel in Nas in Paris, Serge Gainsbourg’s Poinçonneur des Lilas metro station, Serge Reggiani and Marc Lavoine’s Mirabeau Bridge, Mc Solaar’s Lyon station…
The places evoked in the comics Adèle Blanc-Sec, Largo Winch, Blake and Mortimer, Michel Vaillant…
But also in the novels of Ernest Hemingway, Victor Hugo, Leo Malet, Daniel Pennac, Marc Levy, Guillaume Musso… you’ll find all the must-see places of Parisian Pop Culture in this new guide.
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By Damien Duarte
Passionné par la culture pop depuis son enfance, ses références vont de Donald Duck à Batman en passant par Marty McFly. Fantripper dans l'âme, voyager sur les traces de Ghostbusters, James Bond ou des héros de romans comme Cotton Malone fait partie d'un séjour idéal et réussi !