Follow the Path of Illumination: Dan Brown’s Rome

Every year, millions of tourists flood the ancient streets of Rome to visit world-famous sites, like the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel or the Coliseum. The amount of things to see, do, eat or drink are truly endless and Rome has something for every type of travel, from the historian to the architect to the devout Catholic.

And now it has something for the bookworm, as well.

The Angels and Demons Rome tour is a four-hour guided tour of Rome based on the blockbuster movie and best-selling novel Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. The story follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon on a race against time to some of Rome’s most well-known historic and religious sites to save the lives of the “preferiti,” the top four cardinals expected to be elected the next pope. The preferiti have been kidnapped by an ancient enemy of the Catholic Church, the Illuminati. Langdon must follow the Illuminati’s fabled Path of Illumination to save the cardinals before they are killed off one by one.

For €56 per person (roughly $71), the group tour will take guests along the same path Brown’s beloved Langdon takes in the book, including Castel Sant’Angelo, St. Maria Del Popolo Church, St. Peter’s Square, St. Maria Della Vittoria Church, Piazza Navona and the outside of “Il Passetto,” the mysterious secret passage connecting the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo.

The tour is offered in English and includes a coffee break, admission to Castel Sant’Angelo and a map of the Illuminati. Private tours of the same itinerary are available for those who want a more intimate experience.

The Angels and Demons Rome tour is the only official tour of its kind and its website explains to travelers that their “aim is to offer the best, most exciting and intriguing excursion for enthusiastic fans of the novel and for visitors simply looking to experience this enchanting city from a different perspective.” Certainly a must-see for any Dan Brown fan while in Rome.