heritage - Tourism

Heritage
H e r i tag e
Industry, Heritage
Behind the Da Vinci scenes
T
he success of Da Vinci tours has
been backed up by partnership between three national tourist boards and
one of the biggest, high profile box office films of recent years in an innovative
promotional campaign.
Announced by VisitScotland, VisitBritain and Maison de la France, the fivenight Da Vinci Code Adventure tour
involved teams of three winners from
Australia, Germany, Japan, Portugal and
Spain, South Africa, Sweden and the
USA. Each team had a chance to travel
to the locations and attractions in Scotland, England and France to discover
the truth about many of the destinations
featured in the Da Vinci Code.
Philip Riddle, VisitScotland’s Chief Executive says: «Given the huge worldwide
popularity of the The Da Vinci Code,
this is a fantastic opportunity to draw at-
tention to all that our destinations offer»
«Just as the film’s characters attempt to
unravel the secrets hidden in history, the
winning teams will be able to uncover
the stories behind our wealth of history
and heritage on their Da Vinci Code
Adventure. And by sharing their experiences and photographs online, their
personal recommendations will encourage many thousands more to get excited
about exploring the locations they can
see in the film.»
The company started in May. The initial
invitation was emailed to over 750,000
consumers on the three national tourist
board databases. To enter the prize draw,
every recipient had to register and nominate two friends to join their team on
the Adventure. When their friends accepted the nomination to join the team,
they in turn were able to invite two of
their own friends and so on in a classic
‘viral promotion’. These chains of invitations were aimed at reaching many more
thousands of consumers and promote
the unique appeals of Scotland, England
and France. Fans of The Da Vinci Code
were also able to enter the competition
on www.visitdavincicode.com.
Once the winning teams were selected,
people around the world follow the
progress of their country’s team as they
compete to win The Da Vinci Code
Trophy.
From 7th to the 11th September 2006,
the seven successful teams toured Paris, travel by Eurostar to London and
then on to Lincoln, Rosslyn Chapel
and Edinburgh. They solved clues and
completed tasks in each of the destinations as well as uploaded their photographs and stories to the website,
H e r i tag e
www.visitdavincicode.com, to further
inspire future visitors. www. visitdavincicode. com also features in-depth visitor information about Paris, London,
and Edinburgh, ‘behind-the-scenes’ secrets from different locations, key destinations and related attractions, a downloadable The Da Vinci Code movie map,
and movie information and an online
shop.
Philip Riddle continues: «Films offer
huge potential for tourism destinations
to market themselves to global consumers. The right film can be a giant advert – seen by millions of people – for
the unique appeals of a destination.
«As many as one in five international visitors are inspired to choose a destination
by the images they see in movies or on
TV. Our official partnership with Sony
Pictures and its global partner, Eurostar –
the high-speed rail service – will help us
to reach huge numbers of consumers and
persuade them to come here».
About the Tourist Board partners:
Maison de la France, the French Tourist Office, is responsible for the international promotion of tourism in France
through its 34 offices around the world.
Tourism is France’s primary economic
sector, representing 6.6 % of GDP. Maison de la France works in partnership
with the State, regional authorities and
tourism professionals with the overall
objectives of raising the quality of tourism services and increasing tourism revenues. Visit www.franceguide.com for
further information
Named World’s Leading Tourist and
Convention Bureau at the 2005 World
Travel Awards, VisitBritain is responsible for marketing Britain worldwide
and for developing England’s visitor
economy. It has offices and represen-
tatives in 36 countries
around the world and in
the last three years, has
expanded into China
and throughout Eastern
Europe and Southeast
Asia, and increased its
presence in India with
new representatives in
Bangalore and Mumbai.
www.visitbritain.com
VisitScotland provides leadership and
direction for the development of Scottish tourism to get the maximum economic benefit for Scotland. It supports
the development of the £4.5 billion tourism industry in Scotland and is tasked
with marketing Scotland as a quality
destination both domestically and internationally. Visit www. visitscotland.
com for information about holidaying
in Scotland.
About Eurostar:
that unearths the biggest cover-up in
human history.
About Columbia Pictures:
Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is
a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment
(SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of
Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s
global operations encompass motion
picture production and distribution;
television production and distribution;
digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments;
home entertainment acquisition and
distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment
products, services and technologies; and
distribution of filmed entertainment in
67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide
Web at www.sonypictures.com
Eurostar is the Global Partner to Sony
for The Da Vinci Code film. The fast
train service links London, Ashford,
Paris, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Calais,
Disneyland Resort Paris and the French
Alps. It has been named «World’s Leading Rail Service» at the World Travel
Awards every year since 1998 and, in
2007, the company switches its entire
operation from London’s Waterloo International to the new hub at St. Pancras
International. Visit www.eurostar.com
for more information.
About Novotel:
About The Da Vinci Code:
About Grayline:
From director Ron Howard, producer
Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva
Goldsman, (the Oscar®-winning team of
A Beautiful Mind), and producer John
Calley (the Oscar®-nominated The Remains of the Day), comes the film version of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code,
one of the most popular and talked about
novels of our time, with a cast headed by
two-time Academy Award® winner Tom
Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow,
Paul Bettany and Jean Reno. Produced
by Grazer and Calley, The Da Vinci Code
(www.SoDarkTheConOfMan.com) involves a thrilling murder investigation
Grayline offers Da Vinci Code walking
tours in London, Paris and Edinburgh,
working through Citirama in Paris and
Goldentours in London. Tours take
place on different days of the week and
incorporate Da Vinci Code film and
book highlights including Le Louvre
in Paris, Temple Church, Westminster
Abbey and Fleet Street in London and
Rosslyn Chapel in Edinburgh. As an
example, a 2-hr walking tour in London costs £6. For further details visit
www.goldentours.co.uk.
Europe’s leading mid-market chain Novotel has more than 400 hotels worldwide. In the UK there are 30 Novotel
hotels, recently awarded ‘AA (Automobile Association) Hotel Group of the
Year 2005-2006’. ‘New Generation’ Novotel hotels are recognised for their new
contemporary design, their stylish ‘Novation’ bedrooms, ‘Elements‘ their innovative new dining programme and for
‘Service ExtraordinaireTM’, Novotel’s
award winning service programme.
H e r i tag e
By JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press
WriterTue May 23, 9:03 AM ET
Visit French «Da Vinci Code» Chateau
C
hateau de Villette, the sumptuous
home of Sir Leigh Teabing, the sinfully wealthy character from «The Da
Vinci Code,» is not just a figment of
author Dan Brown’s imagination but a
real-life chateau with a past as fascinating as its star-struck present.
bought the property in 1999 – four
years before «The Da Vinci Code» – the
book – hit the shelves.
towering wine press that looks like a giant pterodactyl and dates from the 12th
century.
And for a few thousand bucks, you can
even stay there on a «Da Vinci Code» retreat complete with lectures and meals.
Today, «People come with the book in
hand and they literally go through each
paragraph,» she said, adding that some
even go so far as to recite the dialogue.
Those visitors, Decker said, «don’t like
being reminded» of the thin line that
separates fact from fiction.
Decker, who has lived a drama of her
own with a rags-to-riches background,
said the chateau’s new life as the set for
«The Da Vinci Code» started with an email from Brown’s wife.
Set on a sprawling, 185-acre estate northwest of Paris, the 17th-century chateau
was once home to the noble French Marshal Gen. Emmanuel de Grouchy, exiled
to Philadelphia after leading Napoleon’s
troops to defeat in the Battle of Waterloo.
Brown’s descriptions of the property,
headquarters of Sir Teabing’s search for
the Holy Grail, are almost eerily accurate. Even the barn, with its rickety ladder leading to the loft where Teabing hid
his spy equipment, is true to Brown’s
description.
Nearly two centuries and a host of aristocratic French owners later, American
real estate mogul Olivia Hsu Decker
In real life, the barn houses something
only slightly less curious than the British aristocrat’s state-of-the-art gear: a
Upon learning that Sony Pictures had
bought the rights to «The Da Vinci
Code,» Decker invited the production
company to scope out her digs, and director Ron Howard went incognito, visiting with a tour group.
Like many of France’s historic homes,
Chateau de Villette had fallen into disrepair. Decker restored it, adding 15 more
bathrooms in the process. She also outfitted a multitiered Poseidon fountain in the
backyard with a remote control that allows
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her to regulate the flow of water from the
couch.
Decker was worried about damage during filming, but said the production –
which brought 87 trucks and trailers,
hundreds of crew members and a helicopter to the property for nine days in
the summer of 2005 – went off without
a hitch.
The crew shot at night by «moonlight»
beamed through the chateau’s picture
windows by spotlights.
They transformed the sprawling ballroom
into Teabing’s study, replacing Decker’s
floral-print furniture with darker, heavier
pieces meant to give the mansion a British flavor. Decker pointed to a marble
staircase outfitted with a modern metal
handrail – needed by the handicapped
Teabing to hoist himself to his upstairs
bedroom.
For a scene in which police tear down
the chateau gate, set designers replaced
the massive, wrought-iron gate with
a near-identical copy that fooled even
Decker.
«I couldn’t figure out why my key
wouldn’t work until someone on the
crew came over and let me in,» she said.
Today, Decker has parlayed the chateau’s newfound fame into a profitable
side business: luxury «Da Vinci Code»
retreats with five-night stays at the chateau that include dinners by a five-star
chef and in-depth «Code» lectures by a
historian. The price tag: up to $5,540.
Decker was one of the rare outsiders
permitted to pierce the shroud of secrecy that surrounded every aspect of production. Although she denies signing a
confidentiality clause, Decker deflected
questions about what exactly she saw.
She also declined to reveal her rental fee
for the chateau, but insisted it was «much
cheaper» than the movie’s other French
location, the Louvre Museum – which has
kept its fee strictly under wraps.
It’s the chateau’s hidden details that most
thrill eagle-eyed «Da Vinci Code» fans,
Decker said, pointing to the metal handle
of a picture window, emblazoned with a
five-point star – the symbol police find
carved into the dead body of the Louvre
curator.
«With all the other not-so-nice things
going on in the world, this is a little escape for people,» she said.
The owner of two chateaux in France
as well as property in the San Francisco
Bay area, Decker has plenty of little escapes of her own.
A native of Shanghai, she grew up in
Taiwan, where her parents settled after
fleeing communist China. The family
shared a one-room flat with no running
water outside Taipei, Decker said. She
worked her way out of poverty, first as a
flight attendant and then – after marrying an American and moving to California – as manager of the Hyatt Hotel in
San Francisco.
Asked if she would consider capitalizing
on the wave of interest in her chateau
and sell the property, Decker demurred.
«Right now, I’m pretty busy,» she said.
«But if the price is right…».
H e r i tag e
Britain, Destinations, Heritage
Cracking the Da Vinci Code in England
E
ngland is used to its role as a literary and film location, but never has
there been so much interest generated
as there is in The Da Vinci Code. The
novel – read around the world by over
25 million people – mixes fiction with
fact to page-turning effect and is now
a movie starring Tom Hanks, Sir Ian
McKellan and Audrey Tatou. It centres
on a secret society, the Priory of Sion,
which exists to safeguard the secret of
the Holy Grail.
Starting in Paris, France with a
memorable scene in the Louvre,
Dan Brown’s thriller climaxes in
England, as the increasingly beleaguered symbologist Robert Langdon
(Tom Hanks) and cryptologist Sophie
Neveu (Audrey Tatou) look for the
mysterious Teacher!
Follow the footsteps of Tom Hanks and
discover the hidden secrets of one of
England’s most picturesque counties.
Lincolnshire – famous for its lush
meadows, towering cathedrals and enchanting villages – is becoming a popular film location for some of Hollywood’s
biggest blockbusters. It is no no surprise
Oscar-winning director Ron Howard
chose this beautifully archetypal English
county to shoot some of the film’s most
intriguing parts.
Discover the historic city of Lincoln
where the all-star cast shot climactic
scenes inside Lincoln Cathedral, which
portrayed Westminster Abbey in the
film, has dominated the surrounding
skyline for almost 1,000 years and is
spectacular both inside and out.
Relive more The Da Vinci Code movie
magic at Burghley House, England’s
grandest house of the first Elizabethan
age with an exquisite 300-acre deer park
landscaped by Capability Brown. No
stranger to Hollywood, this magnificent
residence also starred in the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austin’s «Pride & Prejudice».
As the quest continues, the puzzles become more complex. Only one thing
remains certain – the answer lie somewhere in London. A labyrinth of ancient buildings, dramatic courtyards
and exquisite gardens lead you through
London’s extraordinary historical centre
to Temple Church. Built by the Knights
Templar in the 12th century, this momentous sanctuary exudes historic
grandeur.
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complices and is one of London’s most
picturesque Royal Parks. It is flanked by
three majestic palaces, and has extraordinary views of Big Ben and the Houses
of Parliament.
Your search intensifies as you rush on to
Westminster Abbey astounding masterpiece of 11th century Gothic architecture. Within its majestic chambers,
amongst the relics of past kings and
queens, you’ll find the tomb of Sir Isaac
Newton – key to the riddle: «In London
lays a knight a pope interred».
10
Our daring duo also make some startling discoveries in the Reading Room at
Kings College – one of London’s oldest
colleges, situated on the Strand near the
River Thames.
When Langdon and Neveu require
some help translating the second cryptex’s message, «in London lies a knight
a pope interred», they are aided by a
helpful librarian in the college’s Reading
Room.
King’s is one of the oldest and largest
colleges of the University of London and
according to the book, «King’s College
houses its Department of Theology and
Religious Studies adjacent to Parliament
on property granted by the Crown».
The college has several campuses located
around Central London, though the one
that appears in the book is located on
the Strand, the busy thoroughfare that
runs parallel to the River Thames, and
near to Somerset House.
King’s College London was founded by
King George IV and the Duke of Wellington (then Prime Minister) in 1829
as a university college in the tradition of
the Church of England.
St James’s Park. It’s here that the the
«Teacher» disposes of his unwanted ac-
Finish your gripping tour of London
at the National Gallery, symbolically
located on the north side of the Trafalgar Square. This world-class gallery
houses thousands of precious artworks
including Da Vinci’s celebrated Virgin
of the Rocks, which Langdon uses to finally unlock the secrets of The Da Vinci
Code.
Back in the capital, you can take a walk
along Horse guards Parade via St James’s
Park, one of London’s royal parks, bordered by three Royal Palaces. It is here
that the mysterious Teacher, murderous
foe of Langdon and Neveu, steps into
the park to deal with a troublesome accomplice.
Although in The Da Vinci Code the park
is a setting for a murder, it is actually a
very pleasant Royal Park situated in the
heart of the city. It has a raft of political and literary associations and over the
years has hosted a number of ceremonial
parades and national celebrations.
Provided by
www.enjoyengland.com
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11
Haute Cuisine
I
n recent years England has seen something of a culinary revolution. Foreign
visitors have stopped complaining about
British cuisine and Jamie Oliver [famous
TV person and cook] has taken it upon
himself to change our children’s eating
habits. It’s all change…
This is well reflected in the huge number of food and drink events that now
take place around England throughout
the year. The country is positively basking in the variety and distinction of its
regional flavours and identities when it
comes to fresh and delicious produce.
There are quite literally dozens of top
shows and events to attend where you
can sample all manner of delectable
sweet and savory treats, gather top tips
and advice from industry and celebrity
chefs – or simply buy the ingredients
you can’t find at the local supermarket.
October
6th-16th:
7th:
7th-8th:
7th-8th:
7th-15th:
13th-22nd:
14th-20th:
19th-22nd:
20th-29th:
21st-22nd:
Manchester Food and Drink Festival
Cider Festival – Faversham, Kent
(www.brogdale.org/html/events_and_courses.html)
East Midlands Food & Drink Festival – Melton Mowbray
(www.eastmidlandsfoodfestival.co.uk/)
The Taste District Food and Drink Festival, Rheged – Cumbria
(www.tastedistrict.com/)
Exmoor Food Festival
(www.exmoorfoodfestival.co.uk/)
Bidwells Norwich Food Festival
(www.visitnorwich.co.uk/food-festival.aspx)
Apple Week – Faversham, Kent
(www.brogdale.org/html/events_and_courses.html)
Falmouth Oyster Festival – Cornwall
(www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?page=Whats_On)
The Mendip Festival of Food and Drink
(www.mendipfoodfestival.co.uk/)
Apple Festival, Brogdale – Kent
(www.brogdale.org/html/events_and_courses.html)
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23rd-30th: 27th-28th: Liverpool Food and Drink Festival
(www.liverpoolfoodanddrink.com/)
Marlborough Food Fest – Kennet
(www.visitkennet.co.uk/features/food-fest/marlborough/index.htm)
November
16th-20th December: Machester Christmas Markets
28th-29th: North West Food Lovers Festival, Tatton Park
(www. oodloversfestival.co.uk/)
22nd-26th: BBC Good Food Show, NEC Birmingham
(www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com/page.cfm/ACTION=Splash/track
LogID=211955_40C2A07718)
23rd-26th: St Nicholas Fayre – York
(www.yuletideyork.com/)
30th-10th December: Bath Christmas Market
(www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk/)
12
December
2nd: Great Christmas Pudding Race – London
(www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Events/December.htm)
2nd-10th: Christmas Fayre Week – Kent
(www.brogdale.org/html/events_and_courses.html)
7th-10th: Lincoln Christmas Market
(www.lincoln.gov.uk/Events_det. asp?id=8644&sec_id=464)
(Provided by
www.visitbritain.com)
H e r i tag e
13
Lithuania – World Heritage
P
olitical centre of the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania from the 13th to the
end of the 18th century, Vilnius has had
a profound influence on the cultural and
architectural development of much of
eastern Europe. Despite invasions and
partial destruction, it has preserved an
impressive complex of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and classical buildings
as well as its medieval layout and natural
setting, therefore it has been included
in the UNESCO World Heritage list in
1994.
Curonian Spit is an outstanding example of a landscape of sand dunes that
is under constant threat from natural
forces (wind and tide). This world heritage site is located in two countries: Russia and Lithuania. Human habitation of
this elongated sand dune peninsula,
98 km long and 0.44 km wide, dates
back to prehistoric times. Throughout
this period it has been threatened by
the natural forces of wind and waves.
After disastrous human interventions
that menaced its survival the Spit was
reclaimed by massive protection and
stabilization works begun in the 19th
century and still continue to the present day.
Details of travel and attractions can be
found at http://www.nerija.lt/en/
The Kernavė Archaeological Site is situated in eastern Lithuania about 35 km
northwest of Vilnius and represents an
exceptional testimony to some 10 millennia of human settlements in this region. The site has preserved the traces of
ancient land use.
Situated in the valley of the River Neris,
the site is a complex archaeological
ensemble, encompassing the town
of Kernavė, remains of five impressive hill forts, part of an exceptionally
large defense system, some unfortified
settlements, burial sites and other archaeological, historical and cultural
monuments from the late Palaeolithic
period to the Middle Ages. The site has
exceptional evidence of the contact of
Pagan and Christian funeral traditions.
The UNESCO also highlights that settlement patterns and the impressive hillforts represent outstanding examples of
the development of such types of structures and the history of their use in the
pre-Christian era.
Kernavė was an important feudal town
in the Middle Ages. Although the town
was destroyed by the Teutonic Order in
the late 14th century, the site remained
in use till the modern times.
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The Struve Arc (or the Russo-Scandinavian meridian arc) is a chain of survey
which comprises 258 main triangles and
265 station points. The listed site includes
34 of the original station points, with
different markings, i.e. a drilled hole in
rock, iron cross, cairns, or built obelisks.
The Struve Arc stretches through ten
countries and over 2,820km. The northernmost point is located near Hammerfest in Norway and the southernmost
point near the Black Sea in Ukraine.
These are points of a survey, carried
out between 1816 and 1855 by a German-born astronomer Friedrich Georg
Wilhelm Struve. It had been established
in the 16th century that the Earth was
round, but as early as the 17th century
Isaac Newton suggested it might be
slightly flattened at the poles. The experiment conducted by Struve represented the first accurate measuring of a
long segment of a meridian and helped
establish the exact size and shape of our
planet.
It is an extraordinary example of scientific collaboration among scientists
from different countries, and of collaboration between monarchs for a scientific
cause. When it was originally measured,
the chain went through the territory of
only two countries, Russia and Sweden.
Now it runs through ten states: Norway,
(Adapted from http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi)
14
Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova and
Ukraine. These countries have been cooperating since 1993 to ensure protection of the chain and to restore its station points. The Struve Geodetic Arc is
in fact the first World Heritage Site to go
through such a large number of countries. From triangulation to satellitebased measurement.
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