# Chartres The Gothic cathedral of the blue stained glass, the mosaic house of Picassiette and the city lit up at night. A day trip from Paris-Montparnasse. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/centre-val-de-loire/chartres · Revisado: 2026-11-12 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. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Versailles (a 61.4 km), Giverny (a 70.0 km), Paris (a 78.1 km), Auvers-sur-Oise (a 85.5 km) ## Qué hacer - **Chartres Cathedral, its stained glass and the labyrinth** (1 h 30 · Everyone · Free): Notre-Dame Cathedral is the reason for the trip. Gothic, built for the most part within a few decades after the fire of 1194, it keeps almost all its original stained glass, with its famous blue, and a Romanesque royal portal from the mid-12th century. Its two towers are not alike: one is Romanesque and austere, the other has a flamboyant Gothic spire. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1979. The visit Open every day from 8:30 to 19:30 and entry is free. Look first at the west façade and the royal portal; inside, the stained glass (bring binoculars if you have them), the sculpted choir screen and, on the floor of the nave, the 13th-century labyrinth: on Fridays from Lent to All Saints' Day, from 10:00 to 16:45, the chairs are removed and you can walk it. Audio guides can be rented in the shop. Every day at 15:00 there is a public guided tour, in French only, and the tourist office organises others by booking. Respect the services It is a working cathedral: there are Masses every day in the crypt and in the nave (at 18:15 on weekdays and several on Sunday mornings). During Mass you don't stroll through the nave. - **Chartres en lumières, the city lit up at night** (1 h 30 · Families and couples · Free): Every night from April to January, at nightfall, around twenty buildings in Chartres are lit up with projections and music, starting with the façade of the cathedral. It is free and done on foot with the map handed out by the tourist office. The idea was born from the Festival of Light in 2003 and since 2004 it has been the city's great night-time attraction. How to see it Start at the cathedral and follow the map. There are guided tours from the tourist office and rides on a little tourist train to see it without walking. In winter it gets dark early, which lets you see it and be back in Paris by train at a reasonable hour; in summer, it starts very late. One year in two, in September, the Festival of Light fills the city with street shows. - **The upper parts of the cathedral, above the flying buttresses** (Teenagers and adults without vertigo; not accessible · Desde 7 € adult): A guided visit to what is not normally seen: the passages that run alongside the windows, above the flying buttresses, a walk on the roof at forty metres and the cast-iron frame that replaced the wooden one after the fire of 1836. It is run by Monuments nationaux and is done in French. What you need to know There are two hundred steps and it is not for those with vertigo nor accessible by wheelchair. Adults pay €7; under-18s with their family and residents of the European Union aged 18 to 25 get in free. Until 30 April 2027 the monument is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00, and on Sunday afternoon; in summer, until 18:00. Tickets are bought at the Monuments nationaux online box office or at the tourist office's. It meets at the Cloître Notre-Dame, next to the cathedral. - **The Maison Picassiette, the house covered in broken crockery** (1 h · Families and anyone curious about folk art · Desde 9 € adult): Raymond Isidore, born in Chartres in 1900, was a foundryman, road mender and street sweeper. In 1929 he bought a plot of land, built the house and from 1938 covered it entirely, inside and out, with pieces of earthenware, porcelain and glass that he collected: furniture, walls, the garden. Hence the name, pique-assiette, the scrounger who takes the plates, and the nod to Picasso. There are mosaics of the cathedral, of the Porte Guillaume and even of the Eiffel Tower and a Mona Lisa. When and how to go Open from 1 April to 31 October: Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Sunday from 12:00 to 18:00; in July and August, Mondays too. Admission is €9 to €12 depending on the time of year and €5 to €7 for children. It is at 22 Rue du Repos, about 25 minutes' walk from the cathedral or a short taxi ride. - **The International Stained Glass Centre** (45 min · Families and anyone who wants to understand the windows before seeing them · Desde 7 € adult): Two minutes from the cathedral, in the Loëns enclosure, a museum devoted to stained glass with original Renaissance pieces, workshop demonstrations and exhibitions. It is also a training centre for the craft. Seeing it before entering the cathedral helps you read the windows: how glass is cut, how it is painted, how it is leaded. Opening hours and price Open all year: Monday to Friday from 10:15 to 12:15 and from 14:00 to 17:30; Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 14:00 to 17:30. A ticket costs €7, €5.50 reduced. It is at 5 Rue du Cardinal Pie. - **The lower town and the banks of the Eure** (1 h · Everyone · Free): Behind the cathedral, the streets drop down slopes and steps to the Eure. There lies the lower town: half-timbered houses, stone bridges over the river, the remains of the collegiate church of Saint-André and the best views of the cathedral from below. It is the walk that most day-trippers skip and the one that best explains the medieval city. How to do it Go down from the apse of the cathedral and follow the river, crossing it by the bridges, and climb back up by a different street. An unhurried hour. ## Dónde comer - **Brasserie La Cour** (Restaurant, Chartres · Place des Épars, €€). Qué pedir: the pâté de Chartres, the city's emblematic dish, and the seasonal menu signed by Thomas Parnaud - **Le Georges** (Restaurant, Chartres · Place des Épars, €€€€). Qué pedir: 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 - **L'Amphitryon** (Restaurant, Chartres · Place Châtelet, €€€). Qué pedir: the weekday lunch menu, at €32 for two courses or €42 for three, on the terrace facing the cathedral ## By plane: 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. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Le Grand Monarque** (Spa hotel): Chartres's historic hotel, on Place des Épars, a family house that already appeared in the first Michelin Guide of 1900. It has four stars and is five minutes' walk from the station and ten from the cathedral. The rooms Five categories decorated in Regency style and named after kings and queens: Comfort, 15 to 20 m²; Luxe, up to three people; Prestige; family rooms for up to four, of 30 to 35 m²; and six suites with a lounge, for up to four people. Some face the cathedral or a quiet courtyard: ask when booking. The hotel It has a spa with treatments, a beauty salon and a gym, the bar Le Madrigal, the Bistrot Racines, the Brasserie La Cour, open daily, and Le Georges, with one Michelin star. The cellar holds about 30,000 bottles. - **Le Bœuf Couronné** (Hotel): A former coaching inn bought in 1919 by the great-grandfather of the current owners and on Place Châtelet since 1954. Four generations later, Solène and Pierre-Édouard Vinsot renovated it entirely in 2021. It has three stars and, depending on the room, the cathedral is in front of your window. The rooms Seventeen, each with its own decor, all with a good bed, double glazing, television, fibre wifi and a tea and coffee tray. Check-in from 15:00 and check-out until 11:00. Eating and parking In the house is L'Amphitryon, with terraces facing the cathedral, and a cocktail bar. The hotel has private, guarded parking 50 metres away, for €10 per 24 hours, by reservation and with few spaces; the cathedral's public car park is opposite. - **Hôtellerie Saint-Yves** (Hotel, desde 60 € / night): A simple hotel built on a priory almost a thousand years old, fifty metres from the cathedral. The present building, from the 17th century, overlooks the Eure and the lower town: the rooms have a view of the old town or the cathedral. The rooms Fifty, single, double or triple, with sober comfort, all with shower and toilet, spread over three floors. One is adapted for people with reduced mobility. From €60 a night; the buffet breakfast, from 7:00 to 10:00, costs €13, and the tourist tax is €4.10 per person. Getting there You enter from Rue des Acacias. It has private parking for guests. From the station it is about ten minutes' walk, uphill towards the cathedral. It is the cheapest option for sleeping next to the cathedral and seeing Chartres en lumières without taking the car. ### Servicios - **Chartres station**: About 33 trains a day from Paris-Montparnasse · around 1 h · 10 minutes' walk from the cathedral - **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Chartres**: By train via Paris-Montparnasse · by car, 45 minutes from Orly and 1 h 20 from Charles de Gaulle ## Car-free: 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. Presupuesto orientativo: 80–200 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Le Grand Monarque** (Spa hotel): Chartres's historic hotel, on Place des Épars, a family house that already appeared in the first Michelin Guide of 1900. It has four stars and is five minutes' walk from the station and ten from the cathedral. The rooms Five categories decorated in Regency style and named after kings and queens: Comfort, 15 to 20 m²; Luxe, up to three people; Prestige; family rooms for up to four, of 30 to 35 m²; and six suites with a lounge, for up to four people. Some face the cathedral or a quiet courtyard: ask when booking. The hotel It has a spa with treatments, a beauty salon and a gym, the bar Le Madrigal, the Bistrot Racines, the Brasserie La Cour, open daily, and Le Georges, with one Michelin star. The cellar holds about 30,000 bottles. - **Le Bœuf Couronné** (Hotel): A former coaching inn bought in 1919 by the great-grandfather of the current owners and on Place Châtelet since 1954. Four generations later, Solène and Pierre-Édouard Vinsot renovated it entirely in 2021. It has three stars and, depending on the room, the cathedral is in front of your window. The rooms Seventeen, each with its own decor, all with a good bed, double glazing, television, fibre wifi and a tea and coffee tray. Check-in from 15:00 and check-out until 11:00. Eating and parking In the house is L'Amphitryon, with terraces facing the cathedral, and a cocktail bar. The hotel has private, guarded parking 50 metres away, for €10 per 24 hours, by reservation and with few spaces; the cathedral's public car park is opposite. - **Hôtellerie Saint-Yves** (Hotel, desde 60 € / night): A simple hotel built on a priory almost a thousand years old, fifty metres from the cathedral. The present building, from the 17th century, overlooks the Eure and the lower town: the rooms have a view of the old town or the cathedral. The rooms Fifty, single, double or triple, with sober comfort, all with shower and toilet, spread over three floors. One is adapted for people with reduced mobility. From €60 a night; the buffet breakfast, from 7:00 to 10:00, costs €13, and the tourist tax is €4.10 per person. Getting there You enter from Rue des Acacias. It has private parking for guests. From the station it is about ten minutes' walk, uphill towards the cathedral. It is the cheapest option for sleeping next to the cathedral and seeing Chartres en lumières without taking the car. ### Servicios - **Chartres station**: About 33 trains a day from Paris-Montparnasse · around 1 h · 10 minutes' walk from the cathedral - **From Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Chartres**: By train via Paris-Montparnasse · by car, 45 minutes from Orly and 1 h 20 from Charles de Gaulle ## By car: 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. Presupuesto orientativo: 90–200 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Le Bœuf Couronné** (Hotel): A former coaching inn bought in 1919 by the great-grandfather of the current owners and on Place Châtelet since 1954. Four generations later, Solène and Pierre-Édouard Vinsot renovated it entirely in 2021. It has three stars and, depending on the room, the cathedral is in front of your window. The rooms Seventeen, each with its own decor, all with a good bed, double glazing, television, fibre wifi and a tea and coffee tray. Check-in from 15:00 and check-out until 11:00. Eating and parking In the house is L'Amphitryon, with terraces facing the cathedral, and a cocktail bar. The hotel has private, guarded parking 50 metres away, for €10 per 24 hours, by reservation and with few spaces; the cathedral's public car park is opposite. - **Hôtellerie Saint-Yves** (Hotel, desde 60 € / night): A simple hotel built on a priory almost a thousand years old, fifty metres from the cathedral. The present building, from the 17th century, overlooks the Eure and the lower town: the rooms have a view of the old town or the cathedral. The rooms Fifty, single, double or triple, with sober comfort, all with shower and toilet, spread over three floors. One is adapted for people with reduced mobility. From €60 a night; the buffet breakfast, from 7:00 to 10:00, costs €13, and the tourist tax is €4.10 per person. Getting there You enter from Rue des Acacias. It has private parking for guests. From the station it is about ten minutes' walk, uphill towards the cathedral. It is the cheapest option for sleeping next to the cathedral and seeing Chartres en lumières without taking the car. ### Servicios - **Cathedral car park (Place Châtelet)**: Underground public pay car park three minutes from the cathedral ## As a family: 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 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 ### Qué hacer as a family - Chartres Cathedral, its stained glass and the labyrinth - Chartres en lumières, the city lit up at night - The Maison Picassiette, the house covered in broken crockery - The International Stained Glass Centre - The lower town and the banks of the Eure ## With teenagers: 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 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 ### Qué hacer with teenagers - Chartres Cathedral, its stained glass and the labyrinth - Chartres en lumières, the city lit up at night - The upper parts of the cathedral, above the flying buttresses ## Consejos ### Binoculars The high stained-glass windows are far away: binoculars change the visit. ### Labyrinth Fridays Between spring and autumn, if you can, go on a Friday. ### Separate train ticket The Paris metro ticket doesn't reach Chartres: buy the train ticket from SNCF. ### Stay for the lights From November to January they can be seen before a reasonable return train. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### 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.