Explore the real-world places that appear in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Villon-sur-Sarthe, The Seine River, Montmartre, Louvre Palace and Gardens, Notre-Dame Cathedral and 10 more.
Northwestern France — Addie's homeland village
This small French village is where Addie LaRue is born in 1714 and where she makes her desperate bargain with the dark entity on the eve of her arranged marriage to a man she does not love. On her final night in the village, under a full moon in the woods near her home, Addie trades her soul for freedom and the ability to live—though with the terrible curse that everyone who meets her will forget her by morning. Her parents, her betrothed, the entire village—all will wake with no memory of her existence.
Villon-sur-Sarthe is a real commune in the Sarthe department of northwestern France, situated in the Pays de la Loire region. The area has been inhabited since medieval times and retains its rural, agrarian character. Small villages like this were common settings for arranged marriages and folk superstition during the 18th century.
Villon-sur-Sarthe remains a quiet rural village in France. The landscape of forests and farmland that Schwab describes is largely preserved, though the village itself has modernized. Visitors can explore the French countryside and experience the kind of isolation and natural beauty that frames Addie's origin story.
Visit: Villon-sur-Sarthe village (historic site)
Paris — The boundary between worlds
The Seine becomes a crucial location where Addie makes her initial bargain with the dark being beneath Paris. Throughout her centuries in Paris, the river represents both her prison and her freedom—the waters hold magic and memory. She walks its banks during her long existence, contemplating her curse and the nature of her immortal life. The river's flow mirrors time itself, always moving forward, always erasing, much like her curse.
The Seine has been the lifeblood of Paris for thousands of years, serving as the city's commercial, cultural, and spiritual center. Medieval Parisians believed the river held mystical properties and power. The river has been central to French literature, art, and mythology since Roman times.
The Seine remains one of the world's most iconic rivers, flowing through Paris's heart. Visitors can walk its banks, take boat tours, and cross its historic bridges. The river continues to inspire artists, writers, and dreamers as it has for centuries.
Visit: Seine River Paris tours (tour)
Paris, northern hills — Artistic quarter and Addie's refuge
Montmartre becomes Addie's sanctuary during her long centuries in Paris. The bohemian neighborhood, filled with artists, musicians, and free spirits, offers her a place where she can exist on the margins of society. She finds solace among creative people who, though they forget her each morning, understand the spirit of independence and rebellion. The cafés and studios of Montmartre provide her refuge and inspiration as she navigates her cursed existence across generations.
Montmartre has been Paris's artistic heart since the late 19th century, home to Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Van Gogh, and countless bohemian artists. The neighborhood developed its counter-cultural identity during the Belle Époque and became synonymous with artistic freedom and unconventional living. It was the center of the Parisian artistic revolution.
Montmartre remains one of Paris's most visited neighborhoods, known for its artistic heritage, Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and charming streets. The Musée de Montmartre, cafés, galleries, and street artists preserve its bohemian character. Visitors experience the same winding streets and artistic atmosphere that inspired centuries of creators.
Visit: Montmartre neighborhood and Musée de Montmartre (historic site)
Central Paris — Royal power and artistic legacy
The Louvre represents centuries of accumulated human achievement and memory. Addie spends time within and around the palace, marveling at the art and culture that persists even as she herself fades from memory. The museum becomes a meditation on legacy—how humans create art to be remembered, while she is cursed to be forgotten. She observes the painted faces of famous women, thinking of her own erasure from history.
The Louvre was originally a royal fortress in the 12th century, rebuilt as a palace by King Francis I in the 16th century. It became the royal residence of France's monarchs and eventually the world's most visited art museum after the French Revolution. The Louvre is humanity's greatest repository of accumulated culture and memory.
The Louvre is the world's largest and most visited art museum, housing over 38,000 works including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Visitors from around the world come to experience masterpieces spanning millennia. The glass pyramid entrance, added in 1989, has become iconic.
Visit: Musée du Louvre (museum)
Île de la Cité, Paris — Sacred and eternal
Notre-Dame stands as a monument to human permanence and faith, a stark contrast to Addie's curse of being forgotten. She may walk past the cathedral countless times across centuries, but she cannot leave a mark upon it. The bells ring regardless of her existence or non-existence. The cathedral symbolizes what endures while she is perpetually erased—humanity's attempt to create something that lasts beyond individual memory.
Notre-Dame de Chartres was begun in 1163 and stands as one of the greatest achievements of French Gothic architecture. It survived the French Revolution, World Wars, and centuries of change. The cathedral is renowned for its stunning rose windows, flying buttresses, and gargoyle sculptures that have captivated visitors for nearly 900 years.
Notre-Dame Cathedral remains one of the world's most iconic religious structures and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Following the 2019 fire, restoration work is ongoing. The cathedral continues to draw millions of pilgrims and tourists annually who marvel at its architectural grandeur and historical significance.
Visit: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres (historic site)
Opera House, Paris — Beauty and performance
The grand opera house represents the pinnacle of human artistic creation and social gathering. Addie attends performances across centuries, watching humanity's capacity for beauty and emotion. She stands in the crowd, unseen and unforgotten by the next dawn, witnessing the same stories told again and again—tragedy, romance, redemption—themes that mirror her own cursed existence. The opera becomes a meditation on human drama repeated across time.
The Palais Garnier, designed by Charles Garnier, opened in 1875 as one of the most opulent opera houses in the world. Built during the Second Empire, it exemplifies Belle Époque extravagance with its grand staircase, crystal chandeliers, and red velvet. It has been the home of the Opéra National de Paris since its creation.
The Palais Garnier remains one of the world's most beautiful theaters and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can tour the ornate interiors, watch performances, or admire the architecture. The opera house continues to host world-class ballet and opera productions that attract audiences from across the globe.
Visit: Palais Garnier (theater)
Latin Quarter, Paris — Intellectual and artistic heart
The Left Bank becomes Addie's intellectual playground across centuries. She frequents the cafés, bookstalls, and student quarters, observing how each generation reinvents itself with the same passionate ideologies and revolutionary fervor. She watches philosophers, writers, and students come and go, each believing their ideas are new and transformative, never knowing that she has witnessed these same cycles repeated for three hundred years. The irony of being forgotten while observing history unfold is most acute here.
The Left Bank has been the center of French intellectual and artistic life since the Middle Ages, home to the Sorbonne and countless philosophers. During the 19th and 20th centuries, it became synonymous with avant-garde movements, existentialism, and bohemian culture. Writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Sartre made it legendary.
The Left Bank remains a vibrant intellectual and cultural center with historic cafés like Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots. The Sorbonne, bookstalls along the Seine, and literary landmarks attract visitors interested in French intellectual history. The neighborhood maintains its bohemian character while serving as a major tourist destination.
Visit: Latin Quarter and historic cafés (historic site)
Eastern Paris — The city of the dead
Père Lachaise Cemetery represents the permanence of memory that Addie can never achieve. Graves preserve names, dates, and legacies for centuries. Famous artists, musicians, and historical figures are remembered and visited across generations. Addie walks among these monuments to memory, acutely aware of the cruel irony: thousands of people are remembered eternally through stone and inscription, while she—despite living for three centuries—leaves no trace and no grave.
Père Lachaise, established in 1804, is one of the world's most famous cemeteries. It contains the graves of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Chopin, Balzac, and thousands of notable Parisians. The cemetery became a pilgrimage site for admirers of famous artists and a symbol of how Paris preserves and honors its cultural legacy.
Père Lachaise Cemetery remains one of the most visited cemeteries in the world, attracting millions annually. Visitors pay respects to famous graves, enjoy the peaceful tree-lined paths, and contemplate mortality and memory. The cemetery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and continues to be an active burial ground.
Visit: Père Lachaise Cemetery (historic site)
Manhattan, New York — Modern American bohemia
Greenwich Village in the 20th century becomes Addie's new refuge in America. The neighborhood attracts artists, musicians, and bohemians much like Montmartre did in Paris. Addie finds herself drawn to the same creative energy and freedom that has always called to her across centuries. She experiences American modernism, jazz, and the cultural revolution, though each person she meets forgets her by dawn. The neighborhood represents possibility and reinvention, eternal themes in her curse.
Greenwich Village became Manhattan's bohemian center in the early 20th century, home to writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Dylan. The neighborhood was the epicenter of the Beat Generation, folk music revival, and counterculture movements. It represented artistic freedom and rebellion in America.
Greenwich Village remains a vibrant neighborhood with historic brownstones, iconic cafés, and Washington Square Park at its heart. The area attracts visitors interested in American cultural history, bohemian heritage, and literary landmarks. Many original haunts and meeting places have been preserved or commemorated.
Visit: Greenwich Village neighborhood (historic site)
Greenwich Village, Manhattan — The heart of artistic New York
Washington Square Park becomes a gathering place for Addie in modern New York. Musicians, artists, and young people congregate here daily, creating art and music. Addie watches the arch that has stood for over a century, observing how the park remains a locus of human creativity and youth. She performs music here, finding that her artistic gift—one of the few things that persists across her centuries—can still move people, even if they forget her face by tomorrow.
Washington Square Park, established in 1828, was originally a burial ground and public square before becoming one of New York's most iconic public spaces. The Washington Memorial Arch was completed in 1895. The park became the center of bohemian New York and the counterculture movements of the 1960s.
Washington Square Park remains one of New York City's most beloved public spaces, hosting street musicians, artists, chess players, and thousands of visitors daily. The arch is a landmark, and the park continues to serve as a gathering place for creative expression and youth culture.
Visit: Washington Square Park (park)
Fifth Avenue, Manhattan — Repository of human knowledge
The New York Public Library's grand main branch becomes a place of refuge and study for Addie in modern times. She spends hours reading in the vast Reading Room, observing how knowledge and history are catalogued and preserved. The library represents humanity's attempt to preserve memory and learning—a stark contrast to her curse. She reads about history she lived through, seeing herself referenced in historical texts while knowing she has been erased from everyone's actual memory.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the main branch of the New York Public Library, opened in 1911. Designed in Beaux-Arts style, it features the famous marble lions (nicknamed 'Leo Astor' and 'Leo Lenox'). The library serves as one of America's most important research institutions and cultural landmarks.
The New York Public Library's main branch welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. The grand Reading Room with its chandeliers and long tables remains accessible for research. The library hosts exhibitions, lectures, and serves as a major tourist destination and research facility.
Visit: New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (library)
Fifth Avenue, Manhattan — Cathedral of art and memory
The Metropolitan Museum becomes another sanctuary where Addie contemplates the paradox of her existence. Like the Louvre in Paris, the Met houses thousands of artworks created by humans who sought immortality through their creations. Addie stands before paintings of women, sculptures of beauty, and wonders about legacy and remembrance. She experiences the museum across decades of visits, watching how exhibitions change while the fundamental human desire to create and be remembered remains constant.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870, is one of the world's largest and most significant art museums. It houses over 2 million works spanning 5,000 years of history. The museum grew from a modest institution to become a world-class center of art and scholarship.
The Metropolitan Museum attracts nearly 7 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited art museums in the world. The permanent collections span Egyptian antiquities, European paintings, American art, Asian art, and contemporary works. The museum continues to acquire, preserve, and exhibit humanity's greatest artistic achievements.
Visit: Metropolitan Museum of Art (museum)
Manhattan — Urban nature and eternal cycle
Central Park represents the natural world that persists indifferent to Addie's curse. She walks its paths across seasons and decades, watching the same cycles repeat—spring blooms fade to autumn decay to winter's death to spring's rebirth. The park mirrors her own eternal recurrence; she too lives in cycles, meeting and losing the same souls again and again. The lake, the trees, and the open sky provide solace that her human connections cannot.
Central Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and opened in 1858. It was conceived as an urban oasis and romantic landscape within Manhattan, inspired by European parks. The park has been a beloved public space and cultural icon for over 160 years.
Central Park remains one of the world's most iconic public parks, spanning 843 acres across Manhattan. Millions of visitors annually enjoy its lakes, trails, meadows, and cultural institutions like the American Museum of Natural History. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and essential to New York's character.
Visit: Central Park (park)
Broadway and 12th Street, Manhattan — Books and connection
The Strand Bookstore becomes a meaningful place for Addie in modern New York. She spends time among its vast collection of books, many of which contain references to history she has lived through. She finds solace in literature, in reading stories of human love and loss, knowing that while she is forgotten by those she meets, she can still experience beauty, art, and connection through books. The independent bookstore represents the persistence of human culture and creativity.
The Strand Bookstore was founded in 1927 by Benjamin Bass and has been an iconic New York institution ever since. Located in multiple locations over its history, the current Broadway location opened in 1957. The store became famous for its vast inventory and the slogan '18 miles of books.'
The Strand Bookstore remains one of the world's largest independent bookstores, occupying an entire city block with three floors of new and used books. It is a beloved destination for readers, writers, and book lovers from around the world. The store continues its tradition of being a center of New York's literary culture.
Visit: Strand Bookstore (landmark)
Various locations, Paris — Addie's musical legacy
Throughout her three centuries in Paris, Addie expresses herself through music and art. She performs in concert halls, salons, and street corners, leaving an indelible mark on those who hear her even though they forget her face. Her music becomes her legacy—anonymous contributions to the artistic life of Paris. Characters across centuries are moved by her melodies without knowing their source. Music becomes the only way her influence persists, the only thread of continuity in her otherwise erasable existence.
Paris has been a center of musical excellence for centuries. From the great concert halls of the Belle Époque to modern performance venues, the city has hosted the world's greatest musicians and composers. Paris shaped classical music, jazz, and countless other musical traditions.
Paris continues as a world center for music and performance. Venues like the Salle Pleyel, Philharmonie de Paris, and countless smaller concert halls host classical, jazz, and contemporary music performances. The city remains a pilgrimage site for musicians and music lovers.
Visit: Paris concert halls and music venues (theater)
More by V.E. Schwab: All V.E. Schwab books
More novels set in Paris: Browse all Paris books on Map A Story
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