Outbound Train

By Mollie Coyne

Chartres:  The Town.

One of my favorite cathedral towns in France is Chartres, a town in the Eure-et-Loir department situated about 100 kilometers from Paris.  I first learned about Chartres in a high school art history course and was taken in by the beauty of its cathedral. 

The town sits atop a hill on the Eure river and its pride and joy is its cathedral.  The Notre Dame de Chartres, with its unique color of blue in its stained glass windows, is the largest cathedral in France.  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  However, since the cathedral is deserving of its own column, I will save that topic for later.  In this column, I will tell you about the town’s other treasures. 

When you leave Paris to get to Chartres, whether by train or car, the urban jungle sprawl eventually turns into flat agricultural fields.  Then—boom—the outline of the Chartres Cathedral rises in the distance.  When you arrive, you will find a charming and lively town with a lot of things to see and do. 

The Old Town 

The old medieval part of the town of Chartres is darling to walk around.  The Old Town has several well-maintained half-timbered buildings leaning on each other for support along narrow alleyways (or even down stairs posing as alleys).  From behind the Cathedral, the Old Town (which is surprisingly not full of tacky tourists or tacky tourist shops) slopes down to the Eure river. 

You can walk directly down or take a bit of a circular path, seeing more buildings.  The Eure is narrow and lined with weeping willow trees and lovely old homes.  It’s quite peaceful and serene.  Even though you see the Cathedral miles away from the town, once you are in the town it is oddly difficult to find it. 

The Saturday Market

This is one of my favorite things to do in Chartres—walk around their Saturday morning market at Place Billard.  The setting is magnificent.  The market (which is only open once a week) is to the right of the Cathedral and is housed in what looks like a former belle epoque train station that has had its walls removed.  This green iron and glass construction covers dozens of stalls.  You can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, and enough game, poultry and meat to supply all the Sunday dinners with grandma in the hexagon.  You can even find crates and crates of live pigeons just waiting for you to chop their little heads off, pluck their feathers, and slather them with butter. 

A good idea would be to head to the market first thing on a Saturday morning, buy a baguette, cheese, and fruit and then walk around the Old Town, eventually ending up on the banks of the Eure (there are some benches down there) for a picnic lunch. 

Centre International du Vitrail

The International Center for Stained-Glass Art is a major center for the study, creation and restoration of stained-glass art and windows.  If the stained glass windows in the Chartres Cathedral were the highlight of your visit there, then you should visit the Center.  The center is more than just a museum, though.  It’s also a school for those wishing to became stained-glass artists or for those wishing to specialize in the restoration of stained-glass windows. 

They also offer lectures and conferences on the art of stained-glass windows along with short courses on how to make stained-glass art even for novices (and children).  Chartres is known as a city of light and you’ll understand why after a trip to this museum. 

Around Chartres:  The Musée Grenier de l’Histoire

About 3 km outside of Chartres, in the small town of Lèves, is a cool little history museum.  If you are interested in military history like I am, then don’t miss it.  The museum has around 30 mannequins donning different military uniforms, from medieval ages to the modern era, concentrating on French history.  It covers the Napoleon era, major wars and even smaller historical events such as the Dreyfus Affair. 

There are several WW-I and WW-II uniforms, including one worn by an SS officer.  Must uniformed mannequins are accompanied by other artifacts of the era, such as artillery, photographs, and newspaper clippings.  The most interesting uniform display (from my point of view) commemorates Col. Griffith, an American soldier who was killed in Lèves on August 16, 1944.  This museum is open on weekend afternoons and is at 1 bis rue des Grands-Près in Lèves.

Annual Pilgrimage

I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about the Cathedral, but let me mention one thing: each year during Pentecost, there is a major pilgrimage from Notre Dame de Paris to Notre Dame de Chartres.  It’s called the Notre Dame de Chrétienté (Our Lady of Christianity).  While you walk around Chartres, you may notice bronze medallions on the ground marking the trail.  The pilgrimage is by foot, covering 96 kilometers and starts generally around 6 a.m. at the entrance to Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité in Paris. 

While I’ve never done it, according to their website, pilgrims are placed into small groups headed by a priest.  It’s very highly organized, including contingency plans if you want to drop out and medical personnel.  If you’re interested in doing the pilgrimage, visit their website to learn how and when to sign up for it (you have to sign up with a region and even if you don’t live in France, you can sign up through your home country’s special region). 

This seems to be very different then the pilgrimage to Mont St. Michel.  For the Mont, you can do it anytime provided that you hire a government-approved guide to help you navigate the waters.  For the Chartres pilgrimage, it’s a set three-day event on a certain date in either May or June.  Each year there are about 10,000 pilgrims who walk on foot through the center of Paris and out to the countryside.  Sounds like an amazing and unforgettable experience.