Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [276]
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CHARTRES
Step off the train in Chartres (population 42,000) and the two very different spires – one Gothic, the other Romanesque – of its magnificent 13th-century cathedral instantly beckon. Rising from rich farmland to dominate this charming medieval town, Chartres’ Cathédrale Notre Dame ( 02 37 21 22 07; www.diocese-chartres.com; place de la Cathédrale; 8.30am-7.30pm, Sunday mass 9.15am, 11am & 6pm) is a must-see. Its brilliant-blue stained glass and collection of relics, including the Sainte Voile (holy veil) said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus, have lured pilgrims since the Middle Ages. Up until 4pm daily, the shop below the North Tower inside the cathedral rents informative, 25-/45-/70-minute English-language audioguide headsets costing €3.20/4.20/6.20 – you’ll need to leave your passport or other ID as a deposit. Guided tours in French (adult/10 to 18 years €6.20/4.20) and English also depart from the shop.
One of the crowning architectural achievements of Western civilisation, this 130m-long cathedral was built in the Gothic style during the early 13th century to replace a Romanesque cathedral devastated by fire in 1194. Construction took only 30 years, resulting in a high degree of architectural unity. It is France’s best-preserved medieval cathedral, having been spared postmedieval modifications, the ravages of war and the Reign of Terror.
Its three entrances all have superbly ornamented triple portals, but the western Portail Royal is the only one that predates the fire. Carved between 1145 and 1155, its superb statuary, whose features are elongated in the Romanesque style, represents the glory of Christ in the centre, and the Nativity and Ascension to the right and left, respectively. The structure’s other main Romanesque feature is the 105m-high Clocher Vieux (Old Bell Tower; South Tower), begun in the 1140s. It is the tallest Romanesque steeple still standing.
A visit to the 112m-high Clocher Neuf (New Bell Tower; Cathédrale Notre Dame, North Tower; adult/18-25yr/under 18yr €6.50/4.50/free, admission free on 1st Sun of some months; 9.30am-noon & 2-5.30pm Sun May-Aug, 9.30am-noon & 2-4.30pm Sun Sep-Apr) is worth the ticket price and steep climb up the spiral stairway. Access is just behind the cathedral bookshop. A 70m-high platform on the flamboyant Gothic spire, built from 1507 to 1513 by Jehan de Beauce after an earlier wooden spire burned down, affords superb views of the three-tiered flying buttresses and the 19th-century copper roof, turned green by verdigris.
Extraordinary are the cathedral’s 172 stained-glass windows, mostly 13th-century originals, covering 2.6 sq km and forming one of Europe’s most important medieval stained-glass collections. The three most important, dating to 1150, cast a magical light over the west entrance, below the rose window. Survivors of the 1194 fire, they are renowned for the depth and intensity of their blue tones, famously called ‘Chartres blue’. To see stained glass close up, nip into the Centre International du Vitrail (International Stained-Glass Centre; 02 37 21 65 72; www.centre-vitrail.org; 5 rue du Cardinal Pie; adult/16-18yr/under 15yr €4/3/free; 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-12.30pm & 2.30-6pm Sat & Sun), in a half-timbered former granary.
The cathedral’s 110m-long crypt (Cathédrale Notre Dame; guided tour adult/7-18yr €2.70/2.10; tours 11am Mon-Sat & 2.15pm, 3.30pm, 4.30pm & 5.15pm daily late Jun–late Sep, 11am Mon-Sat & 2.15pm, 3.30pm & 4.30pm daily Apr–late Jun & late Sep–Oct, 11am Mon-Sat & 4.15pm Nov-Mar), a tombless Romanesque structure built