Chartres Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres)
Rising from the flat wheat plains of the Beauce like a stone rocket, Chartres Cathedral is arguably the finest Gothic cathedral on Earth — and one of the best-preserved medieval buildings anywhere. Its two mismatched spires and 176 original stained-glass windows, still blazing with 12th-century cobalt blue, make every first glimpse genuinely jaw-dropping.
The Windows & the Labyrinth
The legendary 'Chartres blue' — a colour formula lost to history — saturates the nave in shifting pools of sapphire light that no photograph fully captures. Arrive before 10 a.m. on a sunny morning and you will understand why medieval pilgrims wept on entering.
Set into the nave floor is a 13-metre stone labyrinth dating from around 1200, one of the largest and best-preserved medieval labyrinths in the world. On most Fridays between Easter and All Saints' Day the chairs are cleared so visitors can walk its winding path — a meditative ritual pilgrims once completed on their knees.
The cathedral houses the Sancta Camisia, a relic said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, which has drawn pilgrims here since the 9th century and explains why the building was reconstructed so ambitiously after the fire of 1194.
Climbing the North Tower
A separate ticket (around €9) buys you access to the North Tower staircase — 300 steps of tight medieval spiral that emerge onto a platform level with the flying buttresses. From here the geometry of the cathedral's exterior, the rooftops of Vieille Ville and the Beauce plain stretching to the horizon all click into place at once.
Malcolm Miller, the legendary English-speaking cathedral guide, gave tours here for over 60 years; his tradition lives on through trained guides who offer 75-minute tours at noon and 2:45 p.m. daily (except Sunday morning). Even seasoned travellers leave having noticed things they would never have spotted alone.
Practical Timing
The cathedral is free to enter and open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (until 10 p.m. on summer evenings during the 'Chartres en Lumières' season). Crowds peak between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in July and August, so an early-morning or late-afternoon visit rewards you with near-solitude inside the nave.
Chartres is 85 km south-west of Paris and served by direct SNCF Intercités trains from Gare Montparnasse in about 70 minutes. The cathedral is a 10-minute walk from the station, mostly uphill through the old town.
Chartres Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres) on video
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