Chartres
Chartres
Guide of the Eure-et-Loir
Guide of the Eure-et-Loir
Travel Guide > France > Centre > Eure-et-Loir > Chartres
Capital of Beauce, Chartres is renowned for its religious building, UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Notre-Dame cathedral. Placed on a promontory overlooking the Eure river, the cathedral of Chartres constitutes a real masterpiece of the Gothic art. This pilgrimage Mecca, admirably preserved and presenting a beautiful architectural homogeneity due to the speed of its construction, is among the biggest Gothic cathedrals in France. Its facades decorated with thousands outstanding sculptures, and more particularly its Royal portal. Delight continues inside the building. The cathedral indeed contains the remarkable ancient stained glass windows of the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as a magnificent fence for its choir.
After visiting the cathedral and its crypt, walkers can admire numerous old residences in the old town, such as the Saumon house of the 16th century, the Voûte house, and the houses of the Écuyers street for example. A stroll in the former tanners district along the Eure river lined with bridges should not be missed either. From there, beautiful view of the Saint-André church, a Romanesque building sheltering today an exhibition centre. Having climbed the picturesque Saint-Nicolas hillock nearby, visitors can discover the beautiful terraced gardens of the former bishop's palace, which dominates the banks of the Eure river. In the ancient pope's palace, the Fine art museum exhibits collections of paintings, sculptures, art works and archaeological objects…
Not far from the cathedral too, the Stained Glass International Centre is housed in the attic and the storeroom of Loëns. It is dedicated to art of stained-glass window making (techniques and stages for creation and restoration of stained glass windows). Besides a permanent exhibition of ancient stained glass windows, this centre boasts the work of contemporary artists.
Every evening from April to September at nightfall, the heritage of Chartres gets adorned with magic lights. Magnificent illuminations which confer to the set a magic atmosphere… leading to the Light festival in September.
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