Chartres Cathedral
Chartres, France
My wife says I don't do enough travel posts. The simple reason for that is I can do a car diary post in like five minutes, but these "100 Places" posts tend to take a little longer. Laziness! I decided to knock one out though and the Chartres Cathedral is the one I chose.
The cathedral is located in the town of Chartres about 50 miles southwest of Paris. There are nearly 40,000 people in Chartres, so it's not a tiny town, but the central area where the cathedral is has a loosely enforced pedestrian only zone that makes it a pleasure to visit. It feels like a much smaller town than it actually is.
The structure itself is impressive, and the history is interesting: The current building was completed in 1220. The impressive stained glass was all removed prior to the Germans invading in 1939. The entire place was saved by an American officer named Welborn Griffith during WW2 (look it up - fascinating). It's an annual pilgrimage site because it has housed the Sancta Camisia - a tunic believed worn by the Virgin Mary at the birth of Jesus - since 876. Etc....
The inside of the cathedral is really cool as well. There is a big stone labyrinth on the floor but we couldn't walk it because they had chairs set up. The stained glass is amazing! It really tells a story. The entire place inside and out feels "preserved".
This place wasn't really on my radar, but it was in the book that my list started from and it was easy to visit so I left it in. I'm glad I did. Branelle and I spent a couple days in Chartres in 2016 and we feel like we lucked into a great experience.
The night we got there they had just set up for a two-week laser light show all over the central part of town and they were testing it. Basically you could walk around the pedestrian area and watch these amazing shows projected on all of the old buildings, including the cathedral itself, with accompanying music. There was no one in town so it was like getting a private show.
We had dinner at a great little restaurant called Le Cafe Serpente directly next to the cathedral and then just walked around the old town watching all the lights. It was September - by design we try to travel when other people don't and the weather is decent. In Chartres it really paid off. We stayed at the Le Grand Monarque and it was fantastic! It's a very nice hotel right across the street from the pedestrian zone and about two minutes from the cathedral or anywhere else you want to go.
The next morning we got up early, had breakfast, and then walked to the cathedral. We were there when they were scheduled to open at 9:00. In fact, we were the only people there. At exactly 9:01 a nun opened the door and let us in. She actually went outside to do a few things and for about 15-20 minutes we were the only living creatures (aside from mice) in the entire church.
These are the moments that I appreciate and find to be unforgettable. Some people like to 'share' experiences with thousands of other people - think like Times Square on New Year's Eve. That's actually my idea of Hell. Having this 800 year old church to ourselves on a September morning - that's special to me. I'll go to great lengths to get to do things like this, but we just lucked into this one. When the nun finally did come back in the door we chatted with her for a moment and then a few other people filed in and we left.
Some practical tips and thoughts:
- You could day trip Chartres out of Paris, but I'm not sure I would. The cathedral is spectacular, but not any more so than Notre Dame for example. France, and Europe for that matter, has no shortage of impressive churches. Chartres as part of a trip around Northern France though is a must.
- Parking is available right around the pedestrian zone but it's underground. It's a little tricky to find, but when you do it's right there. Our hotel actually didn't have any parking so when we got to Chartres we just parked our car in the underground garage and never needed it again until we left.
- They don't charge you to go into the church. They'll certainly take donations if you wish or if you'd like to light a candle. It's not very touristy.
- We actually drove to Versailles on the way to Chartres. It's a perfect start for your out-of-Paris trip.
We had a great experience seeing the Chartres Cathedral. I'm not sure it would be easy to replicate the solitude and extras we had on our visit, but it still makes a nice entry on the 100 Places list. Chartres is a nice town and the cathedral is a very interesting and historic place. I wouldn't call it a can't miss destination, but I think you'll be glad you went if you check it off your list.
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