Robert Langdon wakes up in his apartment after having given a lecture at the American University of Paris, on the pagan symbolism hidden in the stones of Chartres Cathedral.
American University of Paris is an independent college of liberal arts and sciences, its campus of 6 buildings centrally located in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank, near the Eiffel Tower and the Seine. AUP is accredited in the United States by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
AUP offer a full complement of liberal arts offerings, including: anthropology, astronomy, biology, drama, fine arts, German, gender studies, Italian, mathematics, music, physics, sociology, and Spanish. These are all taught in English.