The great Rodin once said something like:

"We can come and pray to God in Chartres like everywhere, since He is everywhere;

but we can also come and contemplate the creativity and talent of man

who reveals himself there in his genius and who, in this aspect, is not everywhere"…

This tour can comfortably be run by car/van but, if we decide

to go by train (cheaper option), this tour runs like this:

9 AM: depart by train from Paris Montparnasse station.

10 AM: arrive at Chartres station. Walk to Cathedral (15 mn max of flat walking)

with a first viewing from a distance.

Then we'll go back up to the cathedral and one street will be a little steep:

That's a small and totally worthwhile effort if you ask me, but it can be avoided if the weather is bad or if you're not in the mood. And, if there's only one of your party who prefers to stay behind, there's a very pleasant café (with a very nice outdoor terrace overlooking the cathedral in spring/summer) where he/she can wait for about 45mn while I bring the rest of you on that short walking tour. Back at the Cathedral, I will describe and explain each of the incredible 9 UNIQUE doorways. That takes an hour. Yes, an hour that will fly by!

12:30 PM: after we have circled our territory, we will have a nice break (1h30)

for lunch (not included but very good options nearby).

2 PM: only after lunch will we (at last) enter and discover the inside of the cathedral. I will tell you about the architecture, the stained glass, the relic (Veil of the Virgin) and give you a full explanation of the labyrinth:

4:30 PM: after an extravanganza of very rich, detailed, fun and amazing anecdotes,

we will head back to the train station for the 4:50 train which arrives in Paris at 5:50 PM.

But, if you ask too many questions (and you let me answer them),

we can catch a later train (our tickets are open and there are frequent departures).

Good to know: why don't you this tour on a Thursday and you spend the night in Chartres?

I'll help you take an open-ended return train ticket and recommend good places for dinner

and a hotel within walking distance of the Cathedral.

  I couldn't agree more. This cathedral is decorated with 3500 sculptures on the walls and 26,000 square-feet of stained glass. Of course a one-and-a-half-hour guided tour on the spot (that you could easily sign up for

at the tourist office) is better than nothing but it just has time to scratch the surface.

After that tour, you will have seen and admired most of (but far from all) the grounds but you will not have understood all the Whys and the incredible Hows. 90 minutes for me is just enough time

to speak to you only about the stained glass windows! And no, it's not too much time (unless, of course,

you don't like stained glass) because each window has an incredible story of its own and illustrations of around no less than 40 corporations of workers (bakers, shoe-makers, carpenters, masons ...) who wanted

to appear as donors and who still all have messages and stories of their every day life to tell!

Bakers

Carpenters

Blacksmiths

To truly understand and appreciate the cathedral, we'll need to get acquainted with the town. 

First we'll walk around the former fortified wall of the Cathedral's cloister so that you can understand the interactions between the canons of the Cathedral and the rest of the town, mainly with the local Count and the no-longer-existing castle nearby. Next we'll walk just a bit further in town so that you can see that the Cathedral was built at the top of a rocky overhang (something you have no clue of if you come directly by car, bus or train). We'll talk about the rivalry between the upper town of the "elite" and the lower town, 90 feet below near the river, where the lower (literally) classes (the tanners, butchers...) could practice their messy and stinky trades. Thankfully the present day lower town,

with its old houses and wash houses along the river, is very pleasant to discover!

West Royal doorway

North façade

South façade

Did I mention that the restoration works which have been done over the last 25 years are just magnificent?

Can you tell which parts have been restored and which haven't?

Those pictures were taken in 2017. It's (almost) all done now!!!

And my little finger tells me that you will go back to see that not-so-easy-to-find sculpture of

a captured soul that I for fun like to refer to as the Phantom of the Cathedral!

Oh, and did you watch the video Les Frenchies shot of me at Chartres?

You should. Just in case, here it is!

That way you can have a relaxing evening, see the stunning illuminations and be able to pop back into the Cathedral the next morning to see the labyrinth which they uncover each Friday (from March to October).