The Da Vinci Code: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

As Collet drives through Paris, Langdon mourns Saunière, who he deeply admired. Collet remarks on Langdon’s presence in Paris as a happy coincidence given the symbolism involved in Saunière’s murder. But Langdon—who researches hidden connections and doesn’t trust coincidences—is unnerved. They pass the Eiffel Tower, which looks to Langdon like a huge phallus. The car passes into the Tuileries Gardens and through the Arc du Carrousel, from which four art museums can be seen, each at the point of a compass. They are heading east, toward the Louvre. Having previously visited the famous museum, Langdon admires once again the massive structure that houses the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. 

Collet alerts his captain to their arrival. The gigantic plaza features a controversial modern structure: La Pyramide. Critics believe it clashes with the Renaissance courtyard, while admirers enjoy its symbolism as an ancient structure constructed by modern means. Collet asks Langdon’s opinion, but Langdon only says Mitterrand—the French president who commissioned the pyramid—was bold. The captain’s name is Bezu Fache, but everyone calls him “le Taureau”—the Bull. Collet drops Langdon at the pyramid’s entrance, where the situation begins to feel surreal. Fache welcomes Langdon into the pyramid and tells him what he saw in the photo was “only the beginning of what Saunière did.”