Sign in with Facebook"Come for the Cathedral - Stay for the Town." Chartres by Beausoleil
Chartres Travel Guide: 194 reviews and 739 photos
This is why we first went to Chartres. We had read about and studied the cathedral and we wanted to see it. We've made four or five trips to Chartres at this point and every time I see these two mismatched spires against the sky, I am thrilled.
We were there three times before we realized you could walk the labyrinth. It had been covered with chairs the other times. It's only uncovered on Fridays.
See my Cathedral Travelogue!
Face the Cathedral and walk around the corner to your left through the large iron gate and into a lovely little park beside and behind the cathedral. Hidden in the park is a lovely Beaux-Arts Museum.
There are trees and walking paths and nice benches where you can sit and write your postcards.
In the old town many shopkeepers have very interesting signs. They let you know what is inside even if you can't read . . . and many people couldn't read when the businesses started 1000 years ago!
It's fun to look at the signs and see if you can figure out what is inside before you look at the modern signs made for us.
- Pros:Charming medieval section, glorious cathedral, nice museums
- Cons:None that we could see.
- In a nutshell:After you've seen the cathedral, take time to visit the rest of the town. There are other lovely churches and several museums.
Reviews (4)
Take a walk
Things to Do
(1)
The Chartres Tourist Office is right in front of the famous cathedral. Stop inside and get a map of the town and ask for... more travel advice
It's not a Caribbean restaurant!
Restaurants
(1)
The music was Caribbean, the cuisine pure French and the bread fabulous. When you see it from the outside, it... more travel advice
Visit a quiet garden right behind the...
Off The Beaten Path
(1)
If you walk around to the back of the Cathedral Notre Dame, there is an unexpected garden in the rear. Directly behind... more travel advice
Nice Two Star Hotel near the Cathedral
Hotels
(1)
Very pleasant hotel right across from the Chartres Post Office. You can see the famous cathedral from some of the rooms.... more travel advice
Beausoleil's Related Pages
Chartres Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "A Piece of the Medieval World"
- "Chartres' Cathedral"
- "Our Lady of Chartres"
- "Chartres"
- "Chartres Cathedral"
- "The Town in the Shadow"
- "Come for the Cathedral - Stay for the Town."
- See All...
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Comments (4)
Another lovely Cathedral. Those carvings and leadlight windows are stunning! Great photo's!
Thank you. Chartres is my favorite cathedral anywhere. It is a very warm, welcoming place, not intimidating at all.
The twins enjoyed running around th outside of Chartres cathedral...they behaved inside...very nice restaurant tips and pics- although we just ate at a bakery when we were there.... Norman :)
That view one gets approaching Chartres from the Beauce Plain (Emile Zola country) is stunning, isn't it? You've covered a lot of France!p.s. just popping by again-2008:-)Diana
It is comforting to know that another VT couple has also slept in Chartres and likes it!