Take a Da Vinci Code Tour with Free Louvre Admission

A big-budget flick based on best-selling and controversial puzzler novel The Da Vinci Code is hitting the silver screen this weekend; the book's success spawned a proliferation of Da Vinci Code group tours to Paris and London, which may increase with the movie's debut. And that means a crazy crush of people at the Louvre, the famous Paris museum featured prominently in the twisty tale of centuries-old intrigue. If you'd like to follow in the footsteps of Da Vinci Code hero Robert Langdon, quieter Friday nights at the Louvre, free for those under 26, could be the ticket.

Scope out the scene of Da Vinci Code crimes with the Louvre's self-guided Da Vinci Code tour, which corrects a few of the book's premises (Louvre lit states, "Without taking sides either for or against The Da Vinci Code, we will evaluate some of the key themes and rectify some of the exaggerations.") For instance, tour lit lets you know that there are not 666, but 673 panes of glass in the famous pyramid over the Hall Napoleon, where the tour starts. Visiting the Louvre on free Friday nights is already one of the top five free things to do in Paris: have some fun with the book's fictional take while you tour the former palace.

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^{Photo: © Kathleen Crislip | Louvre Thematic Tours}