They oohed and aahed over the magnificent artworks but, as group after group advanced along the Louvre's Grand Gallery, one question kept being repeated: "Is this where the murder took place?"

Art historian Ellen McBreen didn't know the answer.

She could expertly guide people through the maze of the museum's extraordinary collections but she did not have a clue if the gallery was where curator Jacques Sauniere met his gruesome end.

In truth, she didn't know what her customers were talking about.

That was a year or so ago. Back then, Dan Brown's murder mystery tale The Da Vinci Code wasn't sold in France but in America � where most of her customers originate � and was well on its way to entering the stratosphere of global bestseller. The tour guide sent over for a copy.

These days, McBreen's Paris Muse tour company takes more than 80 groups each month on its tour, promoted as Cracking The Da Vinci Code At The Louvre.

It begins, outdoors, at the Arc du Carrousel � in the novel where we first meet Robert Langdon as his police car swishes by on its way to the museum. Except, as McBreen explains, you can't actually drive along the gravel pathway.

It's a taste of what's to come in a tour that visits all of the book's Louvre locations, exploring fact versus fiction as it goes.

Next, we see the Meridian Line (the book's rose line) � a contemporary artwork of the 1980s, that dissects the capital with a series of 135 bronze medallions set into the ground on its east-west axis.

Inside the Louvre, we locate the Caravaggio painting � possibly the one ripped off the gallery's wall by Sauniere � and we see the Mona Lisa.

McBreen, not a symbologist but an academic teaching at the American University in Paris, describes the book as a fictional caper.

It is, she concedes, a piece of superb research and, its fans � once they overcome the poetic licence in places � will probably only leave in greater awe at Brown's formidable research.

While happy to take visitors to the only spot where Robert Langdon could have thrown the GPS tracking dot on to a passing truck (not from a toilet, as in the book, but a very public spot in the middle of a gallery), she also explores the serious issues raised by Brown.

She examines ancient symbols, discusses goddess worship in Christianity and explores the symbolism in Leonardo da Vinci's paintings.

The tour ends, like the book, beneath the Louvre's glass pyramid. When it was built in the late 1980s, the pyramid caused uproar for its alleged despoiling of one of the city's greatest buildings.

However, the French are quite skilled at mixing the old with the new.

One of the best modern examples is Baccarat. As the Noailles Mansion, it was the most fashionable arts salon in Paris in the early 20th century; today, as Baccarat, it's the hottest meal ticket in town.

The legendary crystal and chandelier company Baccarat bought the house a few years ago and promptly turned it over to cutting-edge designer Phillipe Starck.

"It led me to dream up a crystal palace where everything is possible," he said.

He meant it.

From the outside, the handsome house and gardens look imposing, if unremarkable.

Across the threshold, the lit chandelier immersed in a glass water tank at the far end of the entrance hall tells another story. So, too, the revolving chandelier at the head of the stone staircase and the giant-sized Alice in Wonderland glass chair on the ground floor.

Light plays off a billion cut glass edges and mirrors reflect the rainbow colours as you progress through the showroom and museum with pieces like Tsar Nicholas II's candelabra.

It would all be positively giddying if it wasn't for the walls. A fashionable shade of matt, dark grey, they're untouched since the builders shifted out. A close examination reveals joiners' pencil marks and scribbled notes.

Purists will be pleased he left, untouched, the wood-panelled ballroom, its painted, gilt columns and ceiling.

The building is used by Baccarat as offices, showroom, a museum and restaurant. Open from 9am to 1am, the restaurant, La Cristal Room, is a mix of old and new: exposed brick walls and crystal chandeliers, gilt and grey, pink padded chairs and pink-painted walls covered in floating georgette material.

Executive chef Erwan Gestin's food pays homage to the past but its style is terrific, contemporary French.

They don't play with fusion flavours around here. What they serve is lighter and fresher and allows their classic cooking skills to shine through.

The preservation of French traditions is dear to the heart of many French. Throughout the country there is a movement to preserve everything genuinely French.

For the tourist, much is as you would expect.

Patisseries, like the Lenotre chain, sell all those carefully-crafted fruit tarts and gooey chocolate-filled pastries that make any dietary intentions fly out the window.

But there's national concern for the preservation of that most basic French food: the baguette. Supermarkets and increasing demand for longer-life breads are posing a threat to the French bread stick.

In response, traditional bakers now work to a charter which guarantees their bread is hand-made, free of preservatives, and is baked in a special oven. A sign indicates if a baker adheres to the Charter of Traditional Bread.

The chic end of Paris for food shops is around the Madeleine. Fauchon and Hediard vie for the most impressive displays of jams and coffees, fruit and wines. Peek inside Maison de la Truffe to see truffles costing more than your mortgage. If they don't appeal, there's foie gras and caviar.

For the sweeter tooth, Marquise de Sevigne sells everything chocolate-flavoured from soap and bubble bath onwards.

France attracts more tourists than any other country in the world and, for those who haven't recently visited, there's a sea change in the locals' reception.

Once renowned for their, shall we say, cool response, Parisiens are now much more likely to use English. The authorities have got through the message that tourism is their biggest money spinner.

It doesn't translate everywhere. One church � featured in The Da Vinci Code book � is less than happy with the hordes arriving at its door.

A small sign says "a certain book" indicates it to be a significant site � it is not, it states, in no uncertain way.

�  The writer travelled courtesy of British Airways and Accor Hotels.

FACT FILE

�  Getting there: British Airways flies twice daily from Sydney to London with connections to Paris. World Traveller (economy) fare to London with bonus side trip to one of 26 destinations, including Paris, in UK/Europe, from $1759 plus taxes; on sale to Dec 31. Airfares and other specials: 1300 362 675 or www.ba.com

�  What to take: Comfortable walking shoes. And, as it's Paris, make them fashionable! The city is best explored on foot.

�  Cracking the code: See Paris Muse website (www.parismuse.com). The Da Vinci tour is maximum four persons. Or make your own tour of the Louvre (www.louvre.fr), open Wednesday to Monday.

�  Crysatal clear: Cristal Room Baccarat, 11 Place des Etats-Unis, 75116 Paris. Ph 33 (0) 140 221 110.

�  Best beds: Sofitel Baltimore, 88 Bis Ave Kleber, 75116. In the fashionable 16th Quarter and very central, it's near the Champs Elysees, between the Arc de Triomphe and the Trocadero. Sofitel Castille, in the high fashion zone at 33-37 Rue Cambon; very convenient for the food stores around Madeleine. www.accor.au

�  More: French Tourist Bureau (02) 9231 5244, or www.thefranceguide.com

The Sunday Telegraph