A tour of Chartres

So we have been in Chartres for about a month now and I have taken some photos of the city while out exploring. I share these to try and give a visual of what our new "home" town is like.

 

 

Chartres:Flower City. Towns and villages in bloom.

One of the sites that bring tourist to the city is a Cathedral. The "Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres" in it's current state was mostly constructed between 1193-1250. The Cathedral has been well preserved and there are many original stained glass windows that survived intact (source of info, Wikipedia).

One view of the Cathedral (it is currently being cleaned, therefore the scaffolding and yellow hose).

The Cathedral is open most days of the week and visitors are allowed to go through it for free.

One of the entrances to the Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around the Cathedral are gardens and restaurants. One of the afternoons that I was walking around there were children playing in the garden maze, racing each other to the center. 

One of the buildings next to the Cathedral and the restaurants. 

Near the Cathedral on Saturday mornings there is an open market (forgot the camera that day).  In addition to the market on Saturday morning I am told that it is also open on Wednesday mornings. There are flower markets open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays and an open market of clothes also on Saturday. So it is pretty exciting that on numerous days of the week there are open markets to explore.

Flower market in Chartres

James and Maëlle outside the open clothes market

Lots of clothes and shoes to check out

Chartres also has many shops and restaurants to check out in the city center. On most weekends in the city center you will find an activity going on (one weekend Audi was there, another the local police/fire department/medics, etc). On warm summer days the children are found running through these fountains as parents sit by watching. 

So all in all I am enjoying my new "home." I look forward to finding more of the quaint things that it has to offer in addition to the common tourist spots. I feel pretty equipped as a tour guide in Chartres and look forward to sharing the city with some of my family visiting next week.