May 11th, 2006, by Mary Winston Nicklin
Private Da Vinci Code Tour at Dukes Hotel in London
Forget the big group tours at the Louvre, or commercial two- and three-country package tours sprouting up to appease eager fans of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. Dukes Hotel in London does it right, with a “Dukes Does Da Vinci” package with a private guide and driver tracking the scenes and clues from the book. And with the movie set to hit the big screen in a matter of days, and the best London season fast approaching, what a better time to cross the big pond and crack the code. Dukes is an award-winning, privately-owned hotel set within a quiet courtyard between Mayfair and Green Park, with a prime location near the city’s finest restaurants, theaters and museums. Their Da Vinci Code tour is a three-hour adventure, offered in the morning or afternoon, with private car and guide who encourages guests to track the book’s clues, stopping to visit each relevant, noteworthy site. The three-day package includes: accommodation in a Classic room, double occupancy, full English breakfast for two daily, private three-hour “Da Vinci Code Tour” with car and driver, picnic lunch in St. James’s Park before or after the tour, foot massage for two (20 minutes each), two martinis in Dukes Bar, dinner at Dukes Restaurant for two (excluding beverages). Offered for Friday night arrivals now through July 24, or any day from July 24-September 10. GBP 1050, inclusive of VAT.
Related Articles:
MobiBlog, “Following in the Footsteps of the Da Vinci Code- Pop Culture Tours”
From the travel and tourism industry’s point of view, The Da Vinci Code film is an opportunity to bring increased tourism and travel to the UK. But how sincere is this and what should Christians think about it?
This author’s point of view is practical: sometimes ‘bad’ publicity is better than no publicity. Millions of people will see the film and many of them will come to Europe to visit locations used in the film. They will enter genuine holy sites and while there perhaps they will put aside the film’s mixed message and have time to consider the beauty of the sites and think about God.
We at HolidayKeys would certainly recommend spending time near each of the sites. There are lots of bed and breakfasts and holiday cottages for rent around Lincoln Cathedral. For Rosslyn Chapel, just south of Edinburgh in Scotland, there are also many cute holiday cottages to rent. Even the north-west of Paris where Chateau de Villette is, there are French holiday villas.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the Da Vinci Code and Tourism. Seriously a hot topic.
My own opinions about the book aside, i am a strong believer that anything that gets people reading and thinking is a good thing… (thus it’s hard not to applaud the Harry Potter phenom, for example)
And in this case, the book is inspiring travel as well, so props to Dan Brown!