Chartres Labours of Love

Initially I thought of making Chartres a day trip from Paris but after big crowds in Paris and big noise in the hostel (I like rock but not at 4 am) I decided to save my sanity and try my luck overnighting in Chartres. Without a reservation I spent close to an hour looking for a nice and reasonably priced accommodation and my search paid off at Le Grand Monarque, a three-star hotel that looks and feels like more.

The Cathedral was what brought me to Chartres in the first place and I wasn’t disappointed with its awesome stained glass lovingly crafted in the middle ages. Still on a stained glass kick, I visited the Centre du Vitrail for a lesson on how it is made as well as displays of ancient and modern stained glass.

Hands down, my favourite sight in Chartres was the quirky, colourful and charming Maison de Picassiette, one man’s lifelong labour of love dating from the ‘30s. This upbeat and whimsical little house is sure to put a smile on your face.

Overall, I found Chartres a quiet and relaxing change of pace from Paris and definitely worth a spot on any travel itinerary.

Quick Tips:

The Visitors Bureau, open 7 days a week, is located in front of the cathedral. You can tour the city a number of ways – through guided walking tours, with a rented audio guide available from the Visitors Bureau or on a mini train.

The Old Town is filled with narrow cobbled lanes that just beg to be explored and one of the best preserved buildings in Chartres is Maison Saumon dating from the early 16th century.

Saturday is a good day for markets. A food market is held in the morning at place Billard near the Cathedral and there is an all day market on avenue des Sablons.

Best Way To Get Around:

Most of the sights are clustered in Old Town and walking is the best way to explore. Be prepared for lots of steps from Lower Town on the banks of the river Eure to Upper Town where the Cathedral sits. If you need a break, a 35 minute guided tour via tourist train covers the Old Town area and costs €5.50 per adult. It runs daily from 10:30 a.m. and leaves from the front of the Tourist Bureau.

Chartres is easy to get to from Paris via car or train. Trains leave several times an hour from Gare Montparnasse in Paris, take just under an hour and cost €11.80 one way.

City buses run to outlying areas, like Maison de Picassiette which is not included on the tourist train route.

This hotel is part of the Best Western chain and is situated just a few minutes walk from the Cathedral and about 5 minutes from the train station. Originally built as a relay station in the mid 1800s, it has been renovated over the years and is now a high-end three-star hotel with 53 rooms and suites spread over two floors. The cheapest rate for a single room was €85 which was too high for my budget but when I said no thanks and started to leave, the front desk clerk offered me a much more manageable price of €50.

Naturally at that price I didn’t get their premier room, instead it was an older one at the end of a long hallway and about as far from the elevator as you could get. The view was of the back alley but the benefit to this was the absence of traffic noise so I was content. The room was quite large with night tables on either side of the double bed, large chest of drawers, comfortable reading chair and small TV on a swivel stand atop the mini bar. The wallpaper, bed coverings and drapes were done in a matching floral pattern and the large windows opened to allow fresh air (always a bonus as far as I’m concerned). The mini bar prices were close to what you’d pay in a grocery store. There were some nice little touches – a selection of glasses (tumblers and wine goblets), cork screw, hairdryer and coffee maker.

The bathroom was also spacious with a large tiled shower stall, loads of big fluffy towels and quality toiletries. The colour left a bit to be desired – 50’s deco green throughout but considering that was my only complaint, it was no biggie.

The hotel had an aura of understated elegance, sometimes a bit faded but was spotlessly clean and the architecture and décor made it seem like I was in a French country manor. Hallways were filled with antiques and comfortable, overstuffed chairs. On the main floor, the bar was decorated with inlaid wood and featured many Loire Valley wines. The hotel has two restaurants as well as private dining salons and a terrace.

Room prices are listed as singles €85-107 and doubles €105-125 but it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have anything cheaper. Optional buffet breakfast is an additional €13. Parking is available in their private garage at a cost of €8 per day.

Across the street is a pedestrian only shopping area with a Monoprix store among others. Currently the street in front of the hotel is dug up because of Gallo-Roman architectural excavations. This made it a bit dusty and messy but trust me, a stay at Le Grand Monarque is worth the slight inconvenience.

La Reine de Saba is a real mom and pop operation as the owner and her husband have owned and operated it for 30+ years and live upstairs. It is located across the street from the south portal of Chartres Cathedral.

The restaurant isn’t a large place. There are a few tables outside on the sidewalk and maybe a dozen more inside. Floral wallpaper, lace curtains, fresh flowers on the tables and rear windows that look onto a garden made it seem like I was having dinner at a private home.

I had skipped lunch and was hungry so decided to eat early by French standards. At the unfashionably early hour of 7:30 p.m. I was their only customer but judging by the number of chefs in the kitchen as well as the serving staff in place I assume business would have picked up later. The owner was very sweet and insisted on taking my picture, finding me the best table (not hard to do since there was no one else there) and coming by to chat throughout my meal.

Like many restaurants in France, they offer a multi course meal for a set price and for €12 I was able to get appetizer, main course and dessert. Appetizer choices included quiche or soup aux legumes; entrée was fish of the day or roast chicken and dessert was crème caramel, tarte aux pommes or crepes. I started with quiche lorraine. Piping hot, light and fluffy, it was served with a small salad with an oil and vinegar dressing and was almost a meal in itself. My main course was ok – a quarter of a roast chicken served with French fries (are these French French fries?). The chicken was bland but the addition of a very flavourful mushroom burgundy sauce turned ho hum into yum! After two generous courses I seriously considering foregoing dessert but the owner was insistent I try the homemade apple tart so I gave in – with very little coaxing I must admit. Not too sweet, it was a nice end to the meal although again the portion was far too large for just one person.

The restaurant is open at various times throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although not outstanding, the food was good, service was very pleasant and prices were reasonable. The piece de resistance though was the view of the 13th century sculptures above the Cathedral’s South Portal just across the street and eating dinner to the sound of the Cathedral bells was an added bonus.

Stained glass has been an important part of Chartres’ history since the Middle Ages, and some of the finest stained glass in all of Europe is found in the Cathedral. Stained glass artists have studios throughout town where they restore old pieces as well as produce contemporary ones.

In order to learn more about the art I visited the International Stained Glass Centre housed in a renovated medieval storehouse near the Cathedral. The centre takes visitors through the steps of creating a stained glass window. Glass cases detail the process from the initial sketch of the design through to the firing of the finished piece. Behind a large glass window you can watch the artisans at work as they painstakingly create their colourful pieces and if you’re lucky you’ll be treated to a hands on demonstration by the craftspeople.

The museum is made up of many small rooms with changing exhibits. During my visit the main exhibit consisted of replicas of the stained glass windows in Chartres Cathedral, along with explanations as to what each window represented. Since the windows were at eye level rather than hundreds of feet above my head as in the Cathedral, this provided an opportunity to really study and appreciate their detail. If this exhibit is still on, I’d recommend coming here before visiting the Cathedral.

Downstairs is a gallery of modern stained glass including a video called "Lumiere" by Matiere. The contemporary display included abstracts with lots of bright, primary colours from master stained glass artists throughout France. The pictures were laid flat on stands, about table top high and lit from underneath to highlight the colours.

The centre is open Monday to Friday from 9:30a.m. to 12:30p.m. and 1:30 to 6 (weekends from 10am and 2:30 respectively) and admission is €4.

Not quite at stained glass burn out I also stopped at La Galerie du Vitrail at 17 cloitre Notre Dame, across from the Cathedral’s North Portal. This large store is filled with stained glass - mostly contemporary pieces for sale but it also some 19th and 20th century pieces on display.

A 10 minute bus ride from downtown brought me to Maison de Picassiette. This small house was built in the 30s by Raymond Isidore for his wife and three children. The three room house was very plain and simple because the family didn’t have a lot of money. During his walks in the surrounding fields Raymond’s eye was attracted to the colourful pieces of broken crockery and glassware that had been discarded by others. Maybe he liked the pretty colours or maybe he was into recycling but Raymond decided he could use these fragments to decorate the interior of his home. One thing led to another and pretty soon he had developed an obsession to decorate every square inch of the house – inside and out. Although the neighbours thought he was crazy Raymond continued his work right up until 1964 when he died.

Now managed by the city of Chartres, this little gem is tucked away in a residential subdivision and surrounded by much larger and grander homes. From the bus stop it is a few minute walk uphill to the entrance. Books are available for sale in the ticket office (€8) that tell the story of Raymond and his house but the best way to visit is just to take your time and explore.

The site is a tribute to his vision and dedication. Not only the exterior but every square inch inside the house - windows, walls and furniture is covered with ceramic and glass pieces. This included not only the bed, table, chairs and bureau but the stove which continued to be used to make meals for the family. Unfortunately the interior of the house was closed to the public for cleaning and repair but the wide open windows provided views into the three rooms.

The outside was even more colourful if possible, partly due to the garden that was filled with tulips and other spring flowers when I was there in April. An attached chapel at the back of the house and a courtyard between the two featured a mosaic of Chartres with the cathedral as its focal point. Surrounding the property is a short wall – all mosaic’d of course.

The house is open between April 1 and October 31 from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., every day except Tuesday and Sunday mornings. It is closed for a week from 1 to 8 May. Admission is €4.57. To get to Maison Picassiette take bus #4 (direction Madeleine) across from the train station.

Chartres Notre Dame Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the best preserved Gothic cathedral in Europe. Although there has been a Cathedral here since the 4th century, the current structure dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries after fire raged through much of the previous Cathedral. People from all over Europe contributed their time and money to help rebuild it and due to their labours of love, it took under 30 years to complete the construction. It contains what is reputed to be a portion of Mary’s veil and is also famous for its stained glass windows and medieval labyrinth.

Built around 1200, the labyrinth is one of the few remaining ones found in Gothic cathedrals. Worshippers came from all over to walk the eleven circuits of the labyrinth, sometimes on their knees, in the hope of becoming closer to God. Nowadays the labyrinth is only accessible to visitors on Fridays which was the day that I visited. There were a number of people saying prayers while following the circular labyrinth to its interior core. Although a few people took pictures I thought it was rather tacky to intrude on what appeared to be a very spiritual and moving experience for those in the labyrinth.

I did take pictures of a few of the 172 incredible stained glass windows that decorate the Cathedral. The Church used stained glass in the Middle Ages to get its message and teachings across to a mostly illiterate population. Some windows were funded by wealthy families or craft guilds and their coat of arms or logos were incorporated into the window’s design. The majority of the windows in the Cathedral date from the 12th and 13th centuries and particularly impressive are the three large circular windows, called rose windows because of their resemblance to the flower. The window above the North Portal is called the Rose of France and it was a gift from Queen Blanche, wife of Louis VIII.

During WWII all the stained glass was removed, carefully wrapped and buried to protect it from bombs. Once the war ended the windows were dug up and put back into the cathedral.

Also noteworthy are the three entrances, called portals. Above each portal are 12th and 13th century Romanesque sculptures depicting biblical scenes. The amount and quality of detail is truly amazing considering their age.

The Cathedral is open to visitors 7 days per week except Sunday mornings when services are conducted. There is no charge to enter the Cathedral but there is a cost to visit the crypt and/or to climb the 380 foot North Tower built in the 16th century. Guided tours are also available for an additional fee with extremely informative English ones conducted Monday to Saturday at 12:45 and 2 p.m.