Une Excursion à Chartres (A Day Trip to Chartres)

Chartres provides a pleasant half-day excursion (or even a full day in the summer). It's only a 90 minute train ride from Paris, and it would be faster if there weren't so many stops along the way. It's also relatively small compared to other cities in northern France, so there's much less walking involved when travelling from one site to the next. This came in handy because a lot of sites would close for an hour or so in the middle of the day, leading me to skip one place and then loop back to it later in the day.

The city is best known for Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a somewhat more ornate version of the other Gothic cathedrals in northern France.

The exterior of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. Two of the other sides of the building also have similar entranceways with Gothic sculptures surrounding three large doors.

Behind the main altar is a large sculpture of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Above are some of the many stained glass windows encircling the cathedral.

The Centre International du Vitrail (International Stained-Glass Center) is separate from the cathedral, but one of its rooms is an excellent complement to the cathedral as it includes a description of each of its stained glass windows. Each window tells a story of the life of a saint, a French king or an excerpt from the Bible.

The one mistake I made in visiting Chartres in March is that it was still too early in the season to visit La Maison Picassiette, which is a house covered in mosaic art. The house doesn't open until April, so I focused on the historic preservation area of the city and some other tourist sites (mostly religious). While the historic centre didn't have a lot of notable buildings, the area in its entirety had much more authenticity than other French cities like Rouen or Reims, as the latter two felt like modern cities with a few buildings quickly painted to look medieval.

On the right is the Escalier de la Reine Berthe. This is a staircase built in the 16th century. I didn't find out until later that the staircase leads to a restaurant selling overpriced dishes to tourists, but it must have been closed for the off-season during my visit.

The Eglise Saint-Aignan is a small church, but the advantage to this is that its stained glass windows are at eye level. This is the chapel and two windows located behind the main altar.

The Eglise Saint-Pierre is a larger church. I'm gaining the impression that every city in northern France was originally built around a large cathedral, with a secondary cathedral or abbey built on the outskirts of the city centre. I think that for Chartres, this church would have represented that type of cathedral/abbey. It also has a high window-to-wall ratio, so it was very well lit, even on a cloudy day.

The Eure is a small river that splits in two and runs through the historic preservation area. In the distance you can see the towers of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

I went to the Chappelle Saint-Aman expecting a small church but it turns out the building has been converted into a small art exhibition. It could only fit about 10 works, all of which were mosaics by Jeroen Meijer. Pictured is his work, High Fidelity, which includes Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost items (such as the keys that were used to depict the candles).

One of the more notable landmarks in Chartres is the Jean Moulin Monument. Moulin was part of the French Resistance during World War II.

The Parc Andre Gagnon is not the largest park in the city, but it is the closest to the main sites. The cathedral towers are ever-present in the city.

Easter weekend is coming up and I have another trip planned. Details to be posted in two weeks.