Chartres Things to Do

The central tympanum of the Chartres south porch. It represents the Last Judgment.
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The tympanums on the other doors are also full of biblical stories and figures. For more information about the main facade please consult the website listed below.

The Cathedral possesses a lovely example of a church labyrinth. It is found at the foot of the nave and dates back to 1200. It is still as it was, has never been resotred. it is circular in form and made up of flagstones from the quarries in Bercheres enclosed by bands of black marble. The 261.5m long pilrimage path was walked by Middle Age pilgrims in prayer, thereby representing a symbolic pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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The Chartres Tourist Office is right in front of the famous cathedral. Stop inside and get a map of the town and ask for the "walk" of Chartres. The walk takes you past the cathedral, down a maze of ancient streets to the Eure River, along the river and back up past a couple more churches and through the Old Town. It's a wonderful experience in an utterly charming town.

The church of St. Pierre is definitely worth a visit. It is much lighter inside than the cathedral and on a sunny day is spectacular.

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We went to see the stained glass of the cathedral, but got a bonus! This weekend (september 18th 2010) was the finale of Chartres en Lumieres and it was magic!! If you have your dinner at 19.00pm and you eat till 21.00/21.30pm, you leave the restaurant and it has just turned dark outside. On nearly every church, cathedral, monument or other building of importance they project a "light show" . All the projections are different and it doesn't get boring. The temperature in september is still great, so you make a relaxed strawl through the town and you don't just see the festival ; you're part of it with all the activities and street shows around it. Great memory, can recommend it to everybody : cathedral in the afternoon, dinner early evening, Chartres en Lumieres untill 00.00! (I believe the finale weekend in 2011 will be 16 and 17 september 2011)

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Chartres is noted for its many large stained glass windows, renowned for their vivid blue colour - especially in a representation of the Madonna and Child known as the Blue Virgin Window, a traditional iconography know as the Seat of Wisdom.

They say this blue color is very hard to copy!

"Dating from the early 13th century, the glass largely escaped harm during the religious wars of the 16th century; it is said to constitute one of the most complete collections of medieval stained glass in the world, despite "modernization" in 1753 when some of it was removed by well-intentioned but misguided clergy. Of the original 186 stained glass windows, 152 survive." Thirty-four lost forever!

There is an interesting legend haunting the Cathedral - since 876 the Cathedral's site has housed a tunic that was said to have belonged to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sancta Camisia. Legend has it that the relic was supposedly given to the Cathedral by Charlemagne who received it as a gift during a crusade in Jerusalem. In fact, the relic was a gift from Charles the Bald and it has been asserted that the fabric came from Syria and that it had been woven during the first century AD.

My wife and I looked at the tunic while the 3-year old twins roamed around the Cathedral (in silence under our stern instructions). But even more impressive are the windows --- and so we kept looking at the huge blue circular stained windows above us...

Chartres is noted for its many large stained glass windows, renowned for their vivid blue colour - especially in a representation of the Madonna and Child known as the Blue Virgin Window, a traditional iconography know as the Seat of Wisdom.

"Dating from the early 13th century, the glass largely escaped harm during the religious wars of the 16th century; it is said to constitute one of the most complete collections of medieval stained glass in the world, despite "modernization" in 1753 when some of it was removed by well-intentioned but misguided clergy. Of the original 186 stained glass windows, 152 survive." Thirty-four lost forever!

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This medieval town has much to see besides churches. Just take a walk around, and enjoy the architecture and the atmosphere. Chartres is a very picturesque town, even if you're not going anywhere in particular.

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This was once a Benedictine abbey named St Peter's in the Valley. Disestablished during the Revolution, it became the parish church of St Peter. Like Chartres Cathedral, it has one of the best collections of medieval stained-glass windows. Most of it dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.