A very beautiful place in the southwest of Paris is Chartres, France.
It is an amazing place in France and you are going to have a great time at this place.
Many people plan a trip to this place when they visit Paris.
It is at a distance of 90 kilometers and it may take just an hour to reach this place by train from Paris.
Many plan the trip as a day tour to this place Chartres and visit the Cathedral and return back to Paris by the end of the day.
But do you really think, it is just the cathedral that you have got to see in Chartres?
No, there is a lot more that this place is offering to its tourists and that is the reason you will find a huge number of people visiting this place every year.
Apart from the Cathedral, there are many museums, many festivals happening every year, many parks to enjoy and all together it is a very beautiful place to spend along with your family.
Instead of just planning a day trip to this place Chartres, plan a nice two to three day trip in this place and it is definitely going to make your trip wonderful.
Chartres is the capital city of Eure-et-Loir and this place is very popular for cereal agriculture.
This region is famous for largest cereal agriculture.
It is always believed that this place Chartres sleeps from 8 in the evening, but it is always awake and you can enjoy a wonderful nightlife on your trip to this place.
This place is also famous for making many famous perfumes like Nina Ricci, Guerlain and many others.
There are many other important things to see and do at this place and you should not miss all that fun.
So plan a nice trip to this place and you are going to have a great time.
Best time to Visit Chartres?
You can visit this place at any time of the year, but the best time to visit this place would be in Summer season.
You will find most of the tourists coming to Chartres only during this time of the year and it is going to be really crowded.
But if you are planning your trip during this season then you should make sure that you are planning your trip in advance and also make sure that you are making all reservations of flight tickets and hotels in advance else your trip may not be as smooth as you expect it to be.
But your trip can be a bit expensive than what you are planning in this season.
Many tourists who want to plan their trip to Chartres in their budget would plan it during November to February so that their trip is smooth and in their budget.
At this time, you can enjoy a pleasant trip without too much of the crowd as well.
Best things to do in chartres
Now let us have a look at my favorite things to do in Chartres, hope you will find the time to visit a few of these places in France.
Visiting Chartres Cathedral
Gothic architecture of France is something that everyone loves and want to visit again and again.
Cathedrale de Chartres is one of the best and finest examples of this.
This place is also known as the Cathedral Basilica Of Our Lady of Chartres and this is part of UNESCO world heritage site as well.
The construction of this Cathedrale was done between 1194 and 1250.
The design of this Cathedral is really amazing and you cannot turn your face away from it even for a second when you are in front of it.
The stained glasses of the 13th century are just fantastic and you must not miss this place at all.
An amazing place that you should not miss when you are visiting Chartres is this place.
The floor designs of the Cathedral and going to match with the window designs when folded.
There are a lot of stories told over the windows and they have survived so long which is really amazing and unbelievable.
You will be shocked by the beauty of 800 years old church which still looks fresh and pleasant just like it was constructed last year.
You should spend at least 2 to 3 hours for having a peaceful tour inside the Cathedral.
What else to do in Chartres?
Tower of Chartres Cathedral
There is no one who will not visit the Cathedral of Chartres when they are visiting Chartres because this is one of the most popular places in Chartres.
In fact, many people visit this place Chartres, just to visit the Cathedral.
Now if you are visiting the cathedral, then why should you miss Tower of Chartres Cathedral.
You will spend a lot of time in looking at the stained glasses and the wonderful architecture of this Cathedral, but take some time out of it and visit the Tower of Chartres Cathedral.
The staircase is spiral and very narrow.
If you do not like this kind of staircase or if you do not like to walk on a very narrow stairs as it can suffocate, then stay out of it as there are more than 300 stairs to reach the Tower of Chartres Cathedral.
But once you reach the top, then it is really going to be amazing and you will enjoy it a lot.
The view of the city from the top of the tower is really amazing and you should not miss it at any cost.
The price that you will have to pay to get an entry to the tower is a bit expensive, but it is definitely worth going to the top of the Cathedral.
It is going to be very cool and windy when you reach the top of the tower and you should be prepared for that.
Carry water and food if you need any while going to the top of the tower.
The panoramic view of Chartres is really amazing and you will not forget this experience in your lifetime.
Day trip to Chartres from Paris
if you are on a one day trip from Paris to Chartres, here is what I recommend you should visit:
Chartres Historic Preservation Area
This place Chartres Historic Preservation Area is very interesting and you should not miss visiting this place on your trip to Chartres, France.
If you are missing this place, then you are definitely missing a lot on your trip to Chartres.
The place is very calm and you can enjoy a lake which is surrounded by hills and making it very relaxing for your eyes.
After a very tired sightseeing to the cathedral and the tower of the Cathedral, you can relax here very well.
This place is very near to the cathedral.
There are many restaurants and shops for some shopping and you can also plan a nice dinner or lunch at any of these restaurants.
All the houses that are nearby this place are also interesting to see.
What else to see in Chartres?
La Maison Picassiette, Chartres
La Maison Picassiette, Chartres is a place in France which can be described in simple words as the “Simply unique, beautiful, inspirational, complicated and amazing”.
This was actually a house of a normal worker and he made this house with the broken pieces of sculptures, paintings and crockery.
This entire place is a work done by this man alone and it took too many years for him to do this.
He worked on this between 1938 to 1964 and the work is really amazing and that is the only reason you should not miss this place.
This place is almost 80 kilometers away from the Chartres city, but do not miss it at any cost.
If you are missing to visit this place, then you are definitely missing a lot on your trip.
More than thirty thousand people visit this place every year in Summer.
You can complete the tour to this place in one hour and your kids will also be amazed if you can explain them how the house and garden are built.
Do not plan it weekends as it is going to be overcrowded and you will be able to have complete fun.
Is chartres worth a visit?
The answer is YES, Charters worth a visit.
Especially if you got the time to visit the following places:
Eglise St-Aignan
You should definitely stop at this place Eglise St-Aignan as this is one of the most beautiful churches in Chartres and you should not miss it.
Many tourists who come to this place, plan only a day trip to Chartres and hence they do not find time to enter inside this church and have a look.
But if you are having time, then do not miss to enter inside the church and have a look.
You are going to be amazed by this very beautiful church.
The interior designing of this church is really amazing and you are going to fall in love with it.
One of the oldest churches of Chartres, but it is really beautiful.
This church is just like another normal building in Chartres, but once you cross the entrance door of the church, then you will understand why you should not miss this place at all on your trip.
The garden outside the church is also an amazing place for your kids to play and have fun.
Popular Chartres tourist attractions
Centre International Du Vitrail
If you like seeing those stained glass windows of the cathedral, then you are going to love this Centre International Du Vitrail museum as well.
It is definitely worth visiting and it is very close to the Cathedral and hence you cannot avoid it.
This is a place where you will get a chance to enjoy the mosaic of the glass windows and other things that are made of these glasses.
This place is really colorful with many different color glasses and also lights.
This place is definitely pretty and unique and you should definitely not miss this place.
If you are someone who like to see this kind of things, then do not visit this place in a hurry.
Take your time to enjoy every part of this museum and appreciate it.
The building of Centre International Du Vitrail is really very beautiful and you will love the small details about stained glass that are explained and those who are familiar with English can read the titles displayed there.
You can call it an exhibition or a museum of stained glasses but do not miss it at all.
Famous Things to do Around Chartres
St-Pierre Church
Many people who visit Chartres say that this place St-Pierre Church is definitely not worth visiting as it is not maintained well.
That is true that this place needs renovation and maintenance, but this place is definitely worth visiting at least to enjoy the architecture and the stained glass windows which are still beautiful and amazing.
A very calm and pleasant place as you will not find many visitors here.
When you visit this place, then you will definitely get the same experience which you enjoyed at the cathedral.
You can never forget these two churches of Chartres.
In fact the building itself is really amazing and you should not miss it.
Les Fresques de Bel Air
This is an amazing piece of attraction for all the tourists to Chartres.
This artwork was first started in 2008 and it has gained tremendous popularity in just a very short period of time and you can really have great fun watching these artwork houses.
This place was first full of gray social houses and they all looked same it was really boring to see all gray houses around.
In order to change them Les Fresques de Bel Air was started.
This artwork turns those boring gray houses into giant mural paintings which are enjoyed by the people visiting this place.
If you are going with your kids to see this place, then get ready they are going to ask you a lot of questions about this place and the paintings that they get to see here.
All the buildings are having this artwork and when you look at these buildings, then they look really confusing and you will not be able to understand which is the entry of the house.
They are so funny like two people are standing and talking to each other, but when you go close to them, then you are not going to find anything there.
Fun things to do in Chartres
Le Compa, Conservatoire de l’agriculture
When you are going back from Chartres, then you can go for a visit to this place.
This place is very close railway station and you are going to have a lot of fun.
This place will not take a lot of time of yours, but is definitely a place where you can spend at least a few minutes before leaving this place.
Le Compa, Conservatoire de l’agriculture is that place where you will get a chance to see many tractors which are related to agriculture.
There will be a lot of tractors displayed in this place and they are of different brands and companies.
The building where all these tractors are placed is really amazing and you can spend a few minutes before leaving this place.
The photos that are displayed or the machinery that is displayed here is worth visiting.
Things to do in Chartres with Kids
Sightseeing in the Old City, Chartres
If you want to enjoy some old houses, old bridges and old churches in Chartres, then you go to Sightseeing in the Old City, Chartres.
This is a very interesting trip and you can book this trip package at any of the tours and travel companies in Chartres.
If you are really interested in this sightseeing trip then do not miss to book the trip in advance of the tour company as it would be difficult for you to go for this trip.
T
his trip is something that even your kids are going to enjoy and hence you should not miss it.
Chartres Bike Tours
If you love adventure and want to look at the Chartres city on bikes then you can book Chartres Bike Tours as there are many tour companies from where you can hire the bikes and go for the trip.
It is going to be amazing when you are traveling on a bicycle around the place to see all the interesting things.
There are many tourists who always prefer to go on a bike tour than on the other tour options as it would be convenient for them to spend as much time as they want at each place.
All you will have to do is return back the bike on time.
You will be given complete guidance about how to operate the gears and also which places are easy to visit on the bike and which places are very nearly.
Apart these things to do, there are many other interesting things to do in Chartres.
Every corner f Chartres is decorated with flowers and plants by a very special garden servicing team.
They make sure that every part if decorated with fresh flower plants and they are changed as per the season and availability.
The city is going to look really amazing with so many different flowers and flower plants.
There are many interesting things to know about this place which you are not aware.
If you want to know more about Chartres then the right way to know is to visit this place for this year’s holiday.
You are definitely going to have a lot of fun in this place.
So never miss to visit Chartres when you are planning your trip to Paris.
Have a great trip in Chartres as this a great place and has a lot to offer you.
