My Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London

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My Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London

wolf 3 October 2008 18 Comments

I read Dan Brown’s mystery novel The Da Vinci Code just before I visited London. So a Da Vinci Code tour was on my schedule.
Walking from the hotelＩlived at the Tower Bridge, I started my Da Vinci Code Tour.

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Wolf’s Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London

Wolf’s Da Vinci Code Walking Tour At London:

A. Tower Bridge

The place where I lived in London.

B. Temple Church

The Church built by the Knights Templar, the order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century.

Dan Brown’s description :
Temple Church had been so named in honor of Solomon’s Temple, from which the Knights Templar had extracted their own title, as well as the Sangreal documents that gave them all their influence in Rome. Tales abounded of knights performing strange, secretive rituals within the Temple Church’s unusual sanctuary.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon came here to find an absent orb on one of the 10 knights’ tombs under the misleading of Leigh Teabing.

C. The National Gallery

Owns the greatest collections of Western European painting in the world, Including Da Vinci’s second version of Madonna of the Rocks ( The Virgin of the Rocks).
These pictures belong to the public and entrance to see them is free.

D. King’s College Library

The Maughan Library of King’s College is just a short walk from Temple Church. It is octagonal with a round table in the middle just as the novel described. But the University won’t keen on visitors without library cards.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
After losting the keystone , Robert and Sophie rush from Temple Church via Temple Underground station to the King’s College Library. They found the cule about the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton here.

E. St. James’s Park

St. James’s Park is the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. It is bounded by Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Palace, Horse Guards and Birdcage Walk. It was used for deer hunting by Henry VIII, it’s now the place which hosts royal celebrations.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
The Teacher arranged a meeting with his accomplice Rémy here, then he killed Rémy with lethal cognac. He choosed St. James’s Park because it was the right place near the Westminster Abbey, which housed the knight’s tomb.

F. Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and later British monarchs. It is currently a Royal Peculiar. Most Kings, Queens and aristocrats of England were buried here.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon came to find the tomb of Sir Isaac Newton. They discoded the code at last. Teabing was also arrested here.

G: Opus Dei’s London Headquarters

It is situated on Orme Court, opposite Kensington Gardens.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Under the misleading of the Teacher, Silas hided himself in the London headquarters of the Opus Dei. But the police found him soon, he accidentally injured mentor Bishop Aringarosa on his way escape.

H. Biggin Hill Airport

You can take flying lessons or an helicopter ride over London from Biggin Hill Airport. Darwin and Churchill’s former residences also nearby there.

Role in Da Vinci Code:
Sophie and Langdon arrived London at Biggin Hill Airport by the private jet of Leigh Teabing. But the police were already waiting for them there…

I only walked from A to F. The Opus Dei’s London Headquarters and Biggin Hill Airport was too far to me, Maybe I could visited it next time.