Tours in Paris point out the book's inaccuracies

PARIS — Before the film version of "The Da Vinci Code" opened in theaters around the world, Connie Kubicek joked that she would need a megaphone once it did. Kubicek, a guide for Classic Walks of Paris, has taken fans through the Paris of Dan Brown's novel since February 2005. An estimated 8,000 people have participated in the tour during the past 15 months, according to Classic Walks owner David Mebane.

Kubicek's tour begins beneath a statue of Napoleon in front of the Hotel Ritz Paris at Place Vendome. This is a logical start for "Da Vinci Code" fans because it's from the Ritz that the book's hero, professor Robert Langdon, kicks off a frantic race to crack the Da Vinci Code, elude the police and at least hint at getting the girl.

Departing the Place Vendome, Kubicek proceeds to the Louvre museum, relating the "Da Vinci Code" tale, calling attention to scenes described in the book and pointing out, somewhat gleefully, the details that Brown got wrong.

Among these:

— A person can't see the Pompidou Center and the Musee du Jeu de Paume from the esplanade in the Tuileries garden as Brown suggests.

— Not even the police could navigate a car through the Tuileries garden and up the stairs to the entrance of the Louvre.

— Jumping out of a bathroom window — an exciting escape scene in the book — is impossible. The bathrooms don't have windows.

— I.M. Pei's glass pyramid in front of the Louvre does not have 666 panels of glass. How many it has is a debated question.

Liberties with reality aside, the first part of the walk is stunning. It's a short trip along the Rue de Rivoli and into the Tuileries garden, through the esplanade that leads to Pei's glass pyramid, which has served as the entrance to the Louvre since 1989.

Kubicek does not lead her tour into the museum but quickly skips to the end of the novel and the inverted pyramid in the shopping mall below the Louvre. It's definitely a spoiler for anyone who has not read the book, an ever-decreasing number.

From the Louvre, Kubicek takes walkers on the Pont des Arts over the River Seine, through the windy streets of the 6th Arrondisment and to the Church of Saint-Sulpice, where her tour comes to an end.

Access www.classicwalksparis.com.

THE CHURCH OF SAINT-SULPICE