Explore the real-world places that appear in The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. 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 Hôtel Crillon, Avenue Foch Residence Quarter, Latin Quarter (Rue Delambre area), Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Église Saint-Sulpice area, Left Bank and 8 more.
10 Place de la Concorde — Elliott Templeton's world of society
Elliott Templeton, the snobbish American expatriate and Isabel's uncle, moves in the grand social circles of Paris, where invitations from aristocrats matter more to him than anything else. The narrator, Maugham himself, meets Elliott and Isabel in the city and watches Elliott's social manoeuvres. Places like this embody the glittering world Larry turns away from.
The Hôtel de Crillon occupies an 18th-century palace on the Place de la Concorde, built in the 1750s for Louis XV. It became a hotel in 1909 and has hosted royalty, diplomats, and wealthy foreigners ever since.
The Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel reopened in 2017 after a major renovation. It remains one of the most luxurious hotels in Paris, with restaurants and a bar open to guests and visitors.
Visit: Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel (landmark)
Avenue Foch — Elliott Templeton's Paris milieu
Wealthy expatriates like Elliott Templeton and his circle inhabit elegant Parisian districts, and Elliott's dinners and social jockeying are central to the book's satire. Isabel and Gray Maturin visit Paris and move among these circles, contrasting sharply with Larry's austere life. The wealthy quarter stands for the comfortable conventional existence Larry rejects.
Avenue Foch, originally the Avenue de l'Impératrice, was laid out in 1854 and became one of the most prestigious residential addresses in Paris. It was renamed after Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1929.
The avenue is lined with embassies, private mansions, and apartments. It is a broad, tree-lined boulevard open to walkers, though the residences themselves are private.
Montparnasse — Larry's modest Paris years
After the war, Larry Darrell spends two years in Paris reading voraciously, studying in libraries, and living a spare life that baffles Isabel and his friends. He lives cheaply and pursues learning without ambition, refusing the stockbroker's career waiting for him in Chicago. This is where he begins his quest for meaning.
Montparnasse and the Latin Quarter were the centre of artistic and intellectual life in Paris in the 1920s, home to writers, painters, and students from around the world. Cheap hotels and cafés made it attractive to the impoverished and bohemian.
Montparnasse is a lively area of cafés, brasseries, and theatres such as La Coupole, which opened in 1927. Walkers can wander streets once frequented by expatriate artists and writers.
Visit: La Coupole (restaurant)
10 Place du Panthéon — Larry's reading and study
Larry spends long hours reading in Paris, working through philosophy, literature, and science as he searches for answers about evil and the meaning of life. His studious routine, lacking any practical goal, perplexes Isabel, who expects him to take up a career. Libraries like this represent his commitment to learning for its own sake.
The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève was built between 1844 and 1850 by architect Henri Labrouste, with a pioneering iron-framed reading room. It descends from the library of the Abbey of Sainte-Geneviève and serves students and scholars.
The library remains a working research library, and its famous reading room can be visited by those who register. It is open to the public under certain conditions.
Visit: Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève (library)
Place Saint-Sulpice — Paris streets of Larry's reflection
As Larry roams Paris during his years of study, he wanders through the Left Bank, thinking about religion, death, and the meaning of existence. His friend Isabel and the narrator wonder what he is doing with his time. The district frames his inward turn away from social ambition.
Saint-Sulpice was begun in 1646 and completed in the 18th century. It is the second-largest church in Paris and sits at the heart of the Left Bank.
The church is open to visitors and is known for its Delacroix murals and its organ. The surrounding square is a popular gathering spot.
Visit: Église Saint-Sulpice (landmark)
Illinois — Larry's, Isabel's, and Gray's home world
The story begins among wealthy Chicagoans, including Larry Darrell, Isabel Bradley, Gray Maturin, and Elliott Templeton. Larry returns from the First World War, haunted by the death of a comrade who sacrificed himself to save him. He refuses the conventional path of marriage to Isabel and a job in Gray's father's brokerage, setting the plot in motion.
Lake Forest, north of Chicago, developed in the mid-19th century as an elite suburb for prosperous Chicago families. Its lakeside estates were a symbol of Midwestern wealth.
Lake Forest remains an affluent suburb with a historic downtown and lakefront parks. Many estates are private, but the town centre and public lakefront can be visited.
Visit: Lake Forest Open Lands and Market Square (park)
LaSalle Street, Chicago — The world of Gray Maturin's career
Gray Maturin and Isabel's family fortunes depend on Chicago finance. When the 1929 crash devastates Gray's finances and health, Larry steps in to help him through an unusual treatment. The crash ruins many in Maugham's circle and tests Isabel's loyalties.
LaSalle Street has been Chicago's financial corridor since the late 19th century, home to the Board of Trade and major banks. The Chicago Board of Trade Building, completed in 1930, became its landmark.
LaSalle Street is still a financial district, anchored by the Art Deco Chicago Board of Trade Building. The exteriors can be seen freely, while the building itself is mostly for business use.
Visit: Chicago Board of Trade Building (landmark)
Pas-de-Calais — Larry works as a coal miner
After leaving Paris, Larry takes menial work, including labour in a coal mine in northern France. There he befriends a Polish miner named Kosti, who influences his thinking about spiritual matters. The experience is part of his deliberate immersion in ordinary working life.
Lens was the heart of the Pas-de-Calais coal basin, which was heavily exploited from the mid-19th century and badly damaged in the First World War. Mining there ended in the late 20th century.
The former mining basin is a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Visitors can see slag heaps and the Louvre-Lens museum, which opened on a former colliery site in 2012.
Visit: Louvre-Lens (museum)
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur — Elliott Templeton's villa life
Elliott Templeton retires to a luxurious villa on the Riviera, where he continues his social ambitions to the end of his life. Isabel and Gray Maturin visit, and the narrator observes Elliott's final days, including his dying wish to attend one last grand society party. Larry too passes through the region, Toulon being a port he knows.
Toulon has been France's major Mediterranean naval port since the 17th century. The wider Riviera coast became a fashionable resort for European elites in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Toulon is a working port city with a historic old town, markets, and a Mont Faron cable car. Nearby coastal towns attract tourists with beaches and promenades.
Visit: Mont Faron Cable Car (landmark)
Rhineland — Larry's studies in Germany
During his travels, Larry spends time in Germany, continuing his reading and thinking in search of wisdom. He moves through Europe taking odd jobs, absorbing philosophical influences. Each stop is a step toward India.
Bonn was home to the University of Bonn, founded in 1818, and later served as West Germany's capital from 1949 to 1990. It is also the birthplace of Beethoven.
Bonn is a university city with museums and the Beethoven-Haus. The university and old town are open to visitors.
Visit: Beethoven-Haus Bonn (museum)
Maria Laach Abbey — Larry's period of religious reflection
In his wanderings, Larry spends time in a Benedictine monastery, seeking answers in Christian contemplation. Though the monks impress him, he cannot settle into belief and leaves still searching. This episode shows his openness to every spiritual path.
Maria Laach Abbey, founded in 1093 beside a volcanic lake, is a Benedictine monastery known for its Romanesque basilica. It has been a centre of liturgical renewal in the 20th century.
The abbey remains a working monastery, and its basilica, bookshop, and gardens welcome visitors. The lakeside setting draws walkers and tourists.
Visit: Maria Laach Abbey (historic site)
Maharashtra, India — Larry's arrival in India
Larry sails to India, arriving in Bombay on his path to find peace. He travels on to seek out a guru, finding the spiritual teachings that finally answer his questions. His time in India transforms him and sets the course for his return to the West.
The Gateway of India was built between 1911 and 1924 to commemorate the 1911 visit of King George V. It became the ceremonial entry point for travellers arriving by sea.
The Gateway of India is a major landmark on Mumbai's waterfront, open to all. Ferries to Elephanta Island depart from nearby.
Visit: Gateway of India (monument)
Tamil Nadu, India — Larry's spiritual awakening
In southern India, Larry meets a holy man and studies with him, then climbs a sacred mountain where he experiences a profound moment of illumination. This is where he finally finds the peace he has sought. He returns to the world transformed, living simply and without attachment.
Arunachala is a sacred hill associated with Shiva, long a centre of pilgrimage at Tiruvannamalai. The sage Ramana Maharshi lived on and near the hill from 1896 until his death in 1950, and Maugham visited him in 1938.
Tiruvannamalai draws pilgrims and spiritual seekers, with the Arunachaleswarar Temple and Sri Ramanasramam open to visitors. Many walk the 14 km path around the hill.
Visit: Sri Ramanasramam (historic site)
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