Introduction: What Creative Leaders Can Learn from Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo, the towering voice of French literature and social justice, turned suffering into song and adversity into legendary leadership. Through classic works like Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris, Hugo gave voice to the forgotten and hope to the downtrodden, refusing to bow to convention or political oppression. His Paris was one of turmoil and inspiration, exile and return—a city he shaped as much as it shaped him.

For today’s leaders, Hugo’s journey is a masterclass in courage, empathy, resilience, and purpose-driven creativity. Hugo teaches us to harness our hardships, speak truth to power, and become the storytellers of our own destiny. As you walk in his Parisian footsteps, use Hugo’s hero’s journey and the 12 archetypes to reflect on your path. Will you choose comfort, or will you forge a legend built on vision and heart?

Timeline: Hugo’s Hero’s Journey in Paris

Time	Stage / Archetype	Location	Reflection Focus
09:00	Ordinary World / The Innocent	Place des Vosges (Maison de Victor Hugo)	Origins, values, first dreams
10:30	Call to Adventure / The Explorer	Jardin du Luxembourg (youth, poetic awakening)	Ambition, discovery, claiming your voice
12:00	Meeting the Mentor / The Sage	Bibliothèque Nationale de France (learning, legacy)	Mentorship, learning, sharpening vision
14:00	Tests, Allies & Enemies / The Warrior	Notre-Dame de Paris (struggle, activism, creation)	Adversity, resistance, advocacy
16:00	Return with the Elixir / The Magician	Pont de l’Alma (exile, return, wisdom, legacy)	Reflection, legacy, inspiring change

The Walking Tour

09:00 – Maison de Victor Hugo, Place des Vosges (Ordinary World / The Innocent)

Victor Hugo’s elegant apartment at Place des Vosges was both sanctuary and creative laboratory—a space where ideals were born.

Reflection:

• What places or memories root you in your deepest beliefs and values?
• How does your personal history shape your leadership vision?

Hugo’s Lesson:
All greatness begins in a space of innocence and early dreams.
Question: What “Place des Vosges” grounds and inspires your leadership today?

10:30 – Jardin du Luxembourg (Call to Adventure / The Explorer)

Here, young Hugo found inspiration among Paris’s beauty, launching his poetic and political awakening.

Reflection:

• When did you first listen to the call of ambition or higher purpose?
• What environments spark your creativity and courage?

Hugo’s Lesson:
Transformative leadership begins when you leave comfort for challenge.
Question: Where are you being called to adventure—what risks could ignite your next chapter?

12:00 – Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Meeting the Mentor / The Sage)

Hugo was a dedicated learner, finding wisdom and strategy in books, history, and fellow thinkers.

Reflection:

• Who or what are your greatest sources of learning and inspiration?
• How do you seek wisdom and mentorship in your own journey?

Hugo’s Lesson:
Mentors and learning are fuel for vision and resilience.
Question: Who helps you see further and deeper in your leadership?

14:00 – Notre-Dame de Paris (Tests, Allies & Enemies / The Warrior)

Hugo’s campaign to save Notre-Dame mirrored his championing of the marginalized. This is where his activism, creativity, and confrontations with resistance were forged.

Reflection:

• What battles have you fought for your values or vision?
• Who stands with you in moments of adversity?

Hugo’s Lesson:
Obstacles, opposition, and advocacy forge the leader’s true strength.
Question: What “cathedral” are you protecting—and what cause will you not abandon?

16:00 – Pont de l’Alma (Return with the Elixir / The Magician)

After exile, Hugo returned to Paris, now a moral touchstone and national inspiration, his words shaping a movement.

Reflection:

• What wisdom and legacy are you returning with to your community or field?
• How will your story inspire and empower others?

Hugo’s Lesson:
A true hero returns with gifts—vision, wisdom, and hope for the future.
Question: What “elixir” will your journey offer to the world?

Conclusion: Lessons from Hugo’s Hero’s Journey

Victor Hugo’s Paris was a stage of exile and return, struggle and triumph, shadow and light. By writing his own story—one of justice, compassion, and relentless creativity—Hugo found profound flow and legacy. His journey teaches that you alone author your legend, not by avoiding hardship, but by using it to illuminate and uplift others.

Final Reflections:

• Where are you on your hero’s journey: rooted, risking, learning, struggling, or returning?
• What legend are you writing with your leadership?
• How will you choose to speak, act, and create—so your story becomes a beacon for others?

Paris awaits your legend. From the shadows, become the light.

Tour Details:

• Duration: 1 day
• Start Time: 09:00 AM
• End Time: 05:00 PM
• Cost: € 595 per person excluding VAT per person

You can book this tour by sending Peter an email with details at peter@wearesomeone.nl

Your Tour Guide

Peter de Kuster is the founder of The Heroine’s Journey & Hero’s Journey project,  a storytelling firm which helps creative professionals to create careers and lives based on whatever story is most integral to their lives and careers (values, traits, skills and experiences). Peter’s approach combines in-depth storytelling and marketing expertise, and for over 20 years clients have found it effective with a wide range of creative business issues.

Peter is writer of the series The Heroine’s Journey and Hero’s Journey books, he has an MBA in Marketing,  MBA in Financial Economics and graduated at university in Sociology and Communication Sciences.