Europe is known for Gothic style cathedrals as when in doubt one must flock for a spiritual renewal and pilgrimage. La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres (Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) resides in the town of Chartres, the heart of the Beauce region, which enlists in UNESCO World Heritage List. Here a shroud veil said to be worn by the Virgin Mary. The famous labyrinth is visibly seen in the main hall. The monumental screen around the choir is plastered with statutes, which I found rather frightening for its dark Gothic architecture. High cathedral arch ceilings, and abbey stone arch doorways. Victor Hugo would be cultivate the gothic architecture experience. Upon departure from Chartres, in a past life, my former love and I leave not with only memories of what physically seen but the feeling of being in a place of great spirituality and healing. Visitors flock to La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres for a pilgrimage at free admission. It was here where my frustration from life's daily deal of bedlam are released and highly recommend a visit. read more

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This past weekend on a Saturday, we were lucky enough to have a car at our disposal so we decided to take a road trip outside of Paris. We decided to go see Vaux Le Vicomte at night lit by candles and see Chartres by day. What a fabulous idea! Driving up to Chartre, the site of the church in the distance is breath taking and exciting. We actually stopped at a panoramic view across from the church in order to take pictures (keep an eye out for the signs and see my pic). We arrived in Chartre at around 3 pm and parked on Boulevard du Maréchal Foch which is below the old city (pay parking underneath trees and besides a b -there are pay stations every several meters). We walked over the bridge (Pont Bouju) into one of the most beautiful villages I have seen in Europe. And of course we arrived very hungry. So as we went uphill towards the church, we kept an eye out for a restaurant. There was nothing open or if they were open the kitchen was closed. That is until we reached the church square and found that all the restaurants there were open and serving. Check out my review for Café Serpente. They were setting up for a music festival and finishing a stage. The church itself is an amazing work of art. From the flying buttresses, gargoyles, and stone work on the exterior to the labyrinth, the stained glass windows, and Catholic iconography you can spend hours taking it all in and still only see a fraction of its beauty. You might consider getting a tour guide from next to the church to explain more of important points. Also, take some time to walk around the grounds of the church where you will find the Fine Arts museum and a spectacular view of the surrounding area including the panoramic view of the church where I took the picture. When looking up more info about Charte, I came across this event in September: http://www.chartresenlumieres.com/en/chartres-en-lumieres.html I will definitely be going back for that! read more

Notre-Dame de Chartres - Panoramic view of Notre Dame de Chartres - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chartres, 28

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If you're visiting Chartres, then you're bound to see the cathedral in this town! It's huge, and almost as grand as that of Notre Dame in Paris. I read about this church in the Rick Steve's guide book, and went for a walk around the church. Go towards the back of the church to see the buttress and also visit the green gardens! It's really nice. read more

Notre-Dame de Chartres - Front of church - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Chartres, 28

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Traveled here with a children's choir on a little tour of France in summer 2013. They gave a brief impromptu performance inside the cathedral - sounded great! Beautiful place to walk around read more

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Chartres is a lovely and magical small medieval town, that reminded me of the 'quiet little village' that Belle in Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' described in her song: 'Little town It's a quiet village Ev'ry day Like the one before.....' La Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres stands over the town with its sweeping mismatched Gothic towers; flying buttresses; and carved solemn figures of saints, devils, and angels. It rises like a lovely misty vision of old world romance and sacred devotion to touch the clouds. People come from all over the world to see this amazing example of original Gothic architecture with some of the most unique stained glass windows in Europe. There is also the world famous labyrinth on the floor of the cathedral as you enter the front entrance and approach the alter! It is a coiling circular path that guides one to the center of the labyrinth. It was meant to be a journey to the spiritual Jerusalem and it was funny since I had just traveled from the uniquely spiritual and beautiful Jerusalem. The labyrinth has a long history and is a wonderful tool for walking meditations but is only accessible on Fridays. Also, don't miss the ancient crypt underneath the cathedral. There's a serene garden like area by the building near the museum that you can enjoy. Malcolm Miller, a cranky opinionated English scholar has been giving tours there for the past 50 years, like a house elf except in a cathedral. At first, I was appalled when my friends drove me to Chartres at night, because it looked desolate, industrial, and rural in the outer areas. Then, one of my friends in the car started humming the tune from 'Beauty and the Beast' as we drove into the dark, shuttered, empty and deserted small city center of Chartres. I was secretly shaking my fist at another friend, Cutie Pie, a tre chic hottie, who grew up there and who reassured me that it is 'very very nice' I thought ''Damn you, Cutie Pie for misleading me!!! Damn you!!!' I hadn't rented a car and I was desperately hoping as I smiled and chatted with my companions, that it wouldn't be a one bus service dull little village. I could tell my Parisian friends were appalled, but only casually mentioned that they could bring me anything I needed from Paris. They didn't know much about Chartres which is a little over an hour train ride from Paris. Whew, it turns out to be so very different than what we all imagined! Mais non!!! But Chartres is full of shopping, eating, movies, a museum, and everything else. It has old medieval buildings with grey roofs, wooden shutters with flower pots, winding stone streets, and town squares where you can people watch. There are many shops, patisseries, restaurants, chocolatier, and all types of specialty stores lining the cute little streets. I had wi-fi, reliable all day and night trains to and from Paris, tasty coffee, and places where I could relax and eat yummy snacks without getting bored. Belle: 'Little town Full of little people Waking up to say: (Lady): Bon jour! (Man carrying grain sack): Bon jour! (Egg man): Bon jour! (Washer woman): Bon jour! (Baker): Bon jour!' Everybody says Bon jour!! all the time in Chartres..very friendly and small village-y. DO NOT piss the towns folks off by omitting this greeting...they might come after you with pitchforks..seriously.. The May air was cool, breezy, and sunny and much cleaner than Paris, Nice, or Marseilles. It was very relaxing and invigorating to walk 30 mins to the city center with my netbook to use McDo's (McDonald's in Frenchspeak) wi-fi and enjoy few of the Frenchi-fied offerings. I never eat in McDonald's here in the US but I was very grateful for the clean and nice sitting area and the free wi-fi. I would work and then just wander around the twisty and lumpy stone paved streets to take pictures, look into the store windows, and taste chocolates, creme cafe with Chantilly cream, baked goods, crepes.....they are usually much better than here in the States. The croissants were so fluffy, crispy, crunchy, heavenly, and not bready at all! So amazing!!! However, I am not a huge fan of French food so I generally ate out in ethnic restaurants and saved my appetite for my trips to Chinatown in Paris. The Vietnames food there is unparalleled....the pho there was incredibly flavorful, delicate, and satisfying. Boulangerie Patisserie C. Avert on Avenue Maurice Maunoury has everything - chocolates, sandwiches, baked goods....so delicious. I used to buy baguettes on my walk back to the house to eat with foie gras, ham, fresh churned butter, cheese, and boudin from my favorite charcouterie. Chartres is a lovely fairy tale French town with a serene world famous Gothic Castle..oops...cathedral with a timeless labyrinth, underground crypt, and beautiful glowing Rose windows for spiritual contemplation and renewal. And sometimes I heard echoes of Belle singing about longing to leave 'the little town' with 'little people'..Bon jour, bon jour.. read more

Wonderful, amazing cathedrale ! You can go there thousand times and still be amaze ! Watch out for the blue "vitrail" it is only in chartres ! read more