Chartres Part 1: Daytime

On the spur of the moment we booked a hotel, packed two small backpacks, and headed to the train station to spend a night in Chartres.  It's just outside of Paris, about an hour by commuter train to the southwest.  The main reason for the trip was to see the town's son et lumière (sound and light) show, but we figured we would get there about midday and explore the town.  We started off near the Médiathèque, the media library of Chartres.  It was built in the 1920's, blending together the contemporary art-deco style with some gothic elements to reference the town's famous cathedral.

As we made our way around the square we couldn't miss seeing traces of the light show, such as this enormous projection camera and these little lights built into the sidewalks everywhere.

Nearby is the Grand Monarque hotel, now a Best Western (but not like any Best Western we've seen in the states...this is much, much nicer inside).

We went into the atmospheric bar and ordered a blonde and a brune of the local brew, L'Eurélienne.

Here are a few scenes from around the center of town.  We must have arrived on an earlier train than the rest of the tourists because by mid-afternoon all the cafes in the squares were packed.

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres was constructed quickly, from 1193 to 1250, and is in the High Gothic style.  The cathedral is currently undergoing major renovations, which explains all the scaffolding.

The south portal of the cathedral looms above a square where they were setting up a stage (more about that in another post, stay tuned!)

I liked the painted blue timbers of the building across from the cathedral's south porch.

The cathedral has some of the finest medieval stained glass windows in existence.  The majority of the windows on display were originally made between 1205 and 1240.  In 1939 all the glass was taken down and preserved before the Germans invaded the town.  On the left, the north rose window with panes depicting the Kings of Judah and the Prophets.  Right, the south rose window shows the Second Coming and scenes of the Apocolypse.

The choir screen displays scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus.  Work on the screen was started by local stonemason Jehan de Beauce in the 1500's.

The church's most revered relic is the Sancta Camisa; this is supposedly the clothing worn by Mary as she gave birth to Jesus.  I wish I had clothes that would last 2000 years, most of the Made in China stuff these days only lasts a few wash cycles.

Chartres is known for the rich, deep "Chartres blue" stained glass.  The use of sodium compounds in the glass made it more resistant to dirt and corrosion.

We decided to climb up the Belltower, just like we did at Notre Dame.  Unlike Notre Dame, there was no line here at Chartres so we were able to go right up.  Here you can just make out the bell and a small family of pigeons.

We went all the way to the very tip top.  The views were incredible but it's a looong way down.

And unlike Notre Dame there is no wire cage to keep you from falling the 300 or so feet to the ground below.

There weren't any purely ornamental chimaera like there are at Notre Dame, but there were plenty of gargoyles and religious statues carved into the stone.

The climb only includes the north tower.  The south tower is not accessible to the public.  But obviously someone goes up there sometimes because there is a very precarious-looking ladder.

We exited the church and got a good look at the Old Testament statues on the North Portal, and this astronomical clock from 1528.

Just down a narrow street from the cathedral is the Centre International du Vitrail (The International Stained Glass Center).  The building is a medieval tithe barn from the 12th century that was once used for storing the grain and wine given to the Catholic church as the annual tithe from parishioners.

Downstairs is a gothic cellar, also dating back to the 12th century, that is now used as an exhibition space for modern glasswork.

Upstairs is more of an educational space, showing how stained glass is made.  I liked these four panels, which demonstrated how older glass is restored or replicated (not sure which it is, all the explanations were in French).

The last part of our walk took us to the River Eure, a tributary to the Seine.  It's not very wide here, and looks more like a stream.

There are several little nooks like this one where the washerwomen used to do laundry using water from the river.

After a long day of walking, we headed back up the narrow streets to our hotel to rest a bit before the evening's light show.