Chartres Cathedral, its stained glass and the labyrinth
1 h 30EveryoneAll year; the labyrinth can be walked on Fridays from Lent to All Saints' Day
Visit · 1 h 30 · free · open every day from 8:30 to 19:30 · World Heritage Site
From ParisTrain from Montparnasse · 1 h
CathedralFree · 8:30 – 19:30
LightsApril – January, every night
Minimum time1 day
What to do
What to do in Chartres
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Chartres en lumières, the city lit up at night
1 h 30Families and couplesDog-friendlyEvery night from April to January, at dusk
Night walk · 1 h 30 · free · every night from April to January · around twenty sites
The upper parts of the cathedral, above the flying buttresses
Teenagers and adults without vertigo; not accessibleAll year, except the monument's closing days
Guided visit · 200 steps · roof at 40 m · €7 · free for under-18s and EU youth up to 25
From €7
Book
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Chartres, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Chartres
All year: the cathedral is open daily and free. From April to January, every night, Chartres en lumières lights up some twenty buildings; from November to January it gets dark early and you can see it before the return train. The Maison Picassiette opens only from April to October and the labyrinth can be walked on Fridays from Lent to All Saints.
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How you travel
Chartres your way
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Fly to Paris and take a train to Chartres
Chartres has no airport: you fly to Paris, to Orly or Charles de Gaulle, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and continue by train from Montparnasse or by car. Orly is the closest: 75 km, about 45 minutes by motorway. Charles de Gaulle is 120 km away, an hour and twenty.
- Getting thereParis-Orly (ORY): metro line 14…
- Getting aroundOn foot: the cathedral is…
- Where to stayLe Grand Monarque, five minutes…
- ServicesMaison du Tourisme opposite the…
Getting there
- Paris-Orly (ORY): metro line 14 and change to Montparnasse; train to Chartres in around an hour
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG): RER B and metro 4 to Montparnasse, and a train
- The Île-de-France airport ticket goes as far as Montparnasse; the train to Chartres is bought separately
Getting around
- On foot: the cathedral is ten minutes from the station
- Hire car at Orly if you are going on to the Loire
Where to stay
- Le Grand Monarque, five minutes from the station
- Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, next to the cathedral
Services
- Maison du Tourisme opposite the cathedral
Chartres by train, without a car
Chartres is a perfect day trip by train: about 33 trains a day from Montparnasse, an hour's journey and the cathedral ten minutes' walk from the station. Only the Maison Picassiette is out of the way, twenty-five minutes' walk.
80–200 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to stayHôtellerie Saint-Yves, from €60, next…
- Getting aroundTrain from Paris-Montparnasse, around an…
- Where to eatBrasserie La Cour, open every…
- ServicesMaison du Tourisme, with the…
Where to stay
- Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, from €60, next to the cathedral
- Le Bœuf Couronné, between the station and the cathedral
- Le Grand Monarque, for a special night
Getting around
- Train from Paris-Montparnasse, around an hour
- On foot through the upper and lower town
Where to eat
- Brasserie La Cour, open every day
- L'Amphitryon, with a view of the cathedral
Services
- Maison du Tourisme, with the Chartres en lumières map
Chartres by car, on the way to the Loire
By car, Chartres is 88 km from Paris, an hour on the A10 and A11. It makes sense if you are heading on to the Loire châteaux or want to see the Maison Picassiette without depending on a taxi.
90–200 €per person per day, approximate
- Where to stayLe Bœuf Couronné, with private…
- Getting aroundPublic Cathedral car park, on…
- Where to eatBrasserie La Cour, every day
- ServicesMaison du Tourisme opposite the…
Where to stay
- Le Bœuf Couronné, with private parking 50 m away (€10 a day)
- Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, with private parking
Getting around
- Public Cathedral car park, on Place Châtelet
- On foot through the centre, which is small
Where to eat
- Brasserie La Cour, every day
- Le Georges, for a starred dinner
Services
- Maison du Tourisme opposite the cathedral
How much does it cost?
People2
Nights3
Who you're with
Chartres for whoever you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Chartres with children
The cathedral, however beautiful, drags on for children if there is no play. Turn the stained glass into a quest (the blue, the trades that paid for each window, the animals) and leave for the afternoon what they like best: the house of broken plates and the night lights.
- What works bestChartres en lumières, free, April…
- Where to stayTriple rooms at the Hôtellerie…
- Where to eatBrasserie La Cour, open every…
- Bear in mindThe Maison Picassiette closes from…
What works best
- Chartres en lumières, free, April to January
- The Maison Picassiette, covered in crockery mosaics
- The cathedral labyrinth, on Fridays from spring to autumn
- The International Stained Glass Centre, to see how a window is made
Where to stay
- Triple rooms at the Hôtellerie Saint-Yves
- Family rooms for up to four at Le Grand Monarque
Where to eat
- Brasserie La Cour, open every day
Bear in mind
- The Maison Picassiette closes from November to March
- The upper parts of the cathedral have 200 steps and are not for small children
What to do as a family
Chartres with teenagers
With teenagers, the key is climbing: the upper parts of the cathedral, above the flying buttresses and along the roof at forty metres, are the part of the day they remember. Under-18s don't pay.
- What works bestThe upper parts of the…
- Where to stayHôtellerie Saint-Yves, with triple rooms
- Where to eatBrasserie La Cour
- Bear in mindThe visit to the upper…
What works best
- The upper parts of the cathedral, with 200 steps
- Chartres en lumières, at night, at their own pace with the map
- The cathedral labyrinth, on Fridays
Where to stay
- Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, with triple rooms
Where to eat
- Brasserie La Cour
Bear in mind
- The visit to the upper parts is in French
What to do with teenagers
Where to stay
Where to stay if you're flyingwithout a carif you're driving
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Le Grand Monarque
Why we like it: Four-star hotel run by the Jallerat family on Place des Épars, with Regency-style rooms, a spa, a brasserie and a starred restaurant.
Le Bœuf Couronné
Why we like it: Three-star, 17-room hotel run by one family since 1919, on Place Châtelet, with a view of the cathedral, a restaurant and a cocktail bar.
Hôtellerie Saint-Yves
Why we like it: Simple 50-room hotel in a 17th-century building above the lower town, 50 metres from the cathedral, from €60 and with private parking.
From €60
View details
Services for this trip
Where to eat
Where to eat in Chartres
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Brasserie La Cour
What to order: the pâté de Chartres, the city's emblematic dish, and the seasonal menu signed by Thomas Parnaud
Open every day of the year · five minutes from the station
Le Georges
What to order: the chef's "à la Chartres" recipes, such as the egg à la Chartres, and the Grand Marnier soufflé, more than a hundred years on the menu
Closed Sunday to Tuesday lunchtime · booking required
L'Amphitryon
What to order: the weekday lunch menu, at €32 for two courses or €42 for three, on the terrace facing the cathedral
Maître Restaurateur · terrace on Place Châtelet
Map
Everything on the map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Nearby
Near Chartres
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
48.80° N · 2.13° E
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By plane
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Binoculars
The high stained-glass windows are far away: binoculars change the visit.
- 2Labyrinth Fridays
Between spring and autumn, if you can, go on a Friday.
- 3Separate train ticket
The Paris metro ticket doesn't reach Chartres: buy the train ticket from SNCF.
- 4Stay for the lights
From November to January they can be seen before a reasonable return train.
Wandering the nave during Mass
It is a cathedral with daily worship: wait until the service has finished.
Chartres is a small town in the Beauce, the great wheat plain south-west of Paris, and its cathedral can be seen for kilometres before you arrive. Notre-Dame de Chartres is one of the best-preserved Gothic cathedrals in Europe, with almost all its medieval stained glass, and a World Heritage Site since 1979. It can be seen in a day from Paris, by train and without a car, and from April to January you can stretch it into the evening to see the city lit up.
How do you get there from Paris?
By train from Montparnasse station: about 33 trains a day, with a journey of around an hour. Chartres station is ten minutes' walk from the cathedral; you go up via place Châtelet. Chartres is outside the Île-de-France region, so the metro ticket isn't valid: buy the train ticket on SNCF Connect or at the station machine.
By car it is 88 km on the A10 and A11, an hour. Park under place Châtelet, in the Cathédrale car park.
If you fly from Spain, Orly is the nearest airport: 75 km, about 45 minutes by car. By public transport, from any airport you have to go to Montparnasse first.
What to see in a day?
Start with the cathedral, free, open every day from 8:30 to 19:30: the royal portal, the stained glass, the sculpted choir screen and, on Fridays from Lent to All Saints, the labyrinth on the nave floor. If you want to understand how it was made, call in first at the International Centre of Stained Glass, two minutes away. To see it from above, the guided tour of the upper parts climbs 200 steps to the roof.
After lunch, go down to the lower town and the banks of the Eure, with half-timbered houses and stone bridges, and, from April to October, call at the Maison Picassiette, the house that a road sweeper covered in broken crockery. At dusk, Chartres en lumières projects light and music onto the cathedral façade and some twenty buildings.
When to go?
The cathedral looks good all year, and in winter, with fewer people, the low light makes the stained glass shine. What changes with the season is everything else. From April to October the Maison Picassiette opens and you can walk the labyrinth on Fridays. From April to January there are lights every night: in summer they start very late, and from November to January, with early dusk, you can see them and be back in Paris for dinner. May, June, September and October combine good weather, long days and fewer people.
Where to eat and sleep?
The Brasserie La Cour, in the courtyard of the Grand Monarque, opens every day of the year and serves the pâté de Chartres. L'Amphitryon has terraces facing the cathedral and a weekday lunch menu. For a special meal, Le Georges has a Michelin star and revives the "à la Chartres" recipes.
Sleeping lets you see the lights without watching the clock. The Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, in a former priory next to the cathedral, starts at €60; Le Bœuf Couronné has views of the cathedral and parking; and Le Grand Monarque, a four-star with a spa, is five minutes from the station.
And afterwards?
Chartres is the northern gateway to the Loire Valley. With a car, from here you head down to the châteaux in a little over an hour; without one, the return to Paris is as easy as the way out.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Paris to Chartres?
By train from Paris-Montparnasse, about an hour, with some 33 trains a day. By car, 88 km, an hour.
How much does it cost to enter Chartres cathedral?
Nothing: it is free and open every day from 8:30 to 19:30.
When is Chartres en lumières?
Every night from April to January, from dusk. It is free.
Can I see Chartres in a day?
Yes: cathedral in the morning, lower town and Picassiette in the afternoon and, in winter, the lights before the return train.
Can I climb the cathedral?
Yes, with the guided tour of the upper parts: €7, free for under-18s.