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Voykit pocket guide · France
Chartres
Go for one night, not a day trip: the cathedral, the old town and the 22:15 light show need an evening. Two nights if you add the stained-glass museum and a walk on the Eure.
Chartres is a small city of about 39,000 people, an hour by TER train from Paris Montparnasse, built around a 12th-century cathedral that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The old town, the river Eure and the evening light show sit within a 20-minute walk of the station, so a single overnight covers the core and a second night covers the rest.
- Country
- France
- Best months
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (crowds and heat), mid-August (some local businesses close)
- Stay
- 1–2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Contactless cards work in most shops, cafés and restaurants.
- Daily spend
- Budget €60–90 excl. bed · Mid €90–150 excl. bed · High €150+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Orange, SFR, Bouygues Télécom and Free sell prepaid SIMs in their shops and at tabacs; ID is required to register.
- Emergency
- European emergency number 112 · Ambulance (SAMU) 15 · Police 17 · Fire 18
- Plugs
- Types C, E · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; type E sockets have an earth pin sticking out, so Schuko (type F) plugs need a C/E hybrid or an adapter.
- Tipping
- Café or bar: Leave small change, €0.20–1.; Restaurant: Service is included; leave 5–10% in cash for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro or two.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day, more for private guides.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere unless signed otherwise. Restaurants must serve a free carafe of tap water on request.
- Toilets
- Paris has free automatic public toilets (sanisettes); elsewhere use cafés (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €0.50–1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at a café | €1.50–3 |
| Crêpe or sandwich lunch | €6–12 |
| Starter, main, dessert and wine in a brasserie | €30–40 |
| Local Eurelienne beer, bar or shop | €4–7 |
| Taxi across the centre | €10–15 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CDG · Paris Charles de Gaulle
- TGV or RER into Paris, then TER from Montparnasse; allow 3–4 h door to door
- ORY · Paris Orly
- Orlyval and metro to Montparnasse, then TER; allow 2.5–3.5 h
Typical fares
- Paris Montparnasse → Chartres, TER 2nd class
- about €16, about 1 h 15 min (check)
- Chartres → Maintenon, TER
- a few euros, about 20 min (check)
- Taxi station → cathedral square
- €10–15 (check)
Get around
The centre is walkable: station to cathedral is about 1 km, 12–15 min uphill. Local buses cover the ring road and the lower town; a car is only useful for the château day trips. Trains from Paris Montparnasse run roughly hourly and continue to Nogent-le-Rotrou and Le Mans.The centre is walkable: station to cathedral is about 0.6 mi, 12–15 min uphill. Local buses cover the ring road and the lower town; a car is only useful for the château day trips. Trains from Paris Montparnasse run roughly hourly and continue to Nogent-le-Rotrou and Le Mans.
See and do
Known for
- Chartres Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Stained glass and the floor labyrinth
- Half-timbered houses in the old town
- Evening light show on the cathedral square
- Maison Picassiette
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenon | TER from Chartres, a few stops, then a short walk | About 45 min |
| Nogent-le-Rotrou | TER on the Paris–Le Mans line | About 1 h |
| Paris | TER from Chartres to Paris Montparnasse | About 1 h 15 min |
| Orléans | Train via a change, or drive the A10 | 2–2.5 h |
Sleep
- Around the station (avenue Jehan de Beauce)
- Cheapest beds and a 10–15 min uphill walk to the cathedral; best for one night with bags.
- Place des Épars and the centre
- Between station and cathedral, restaurants and bars on the doorstep; mid-range and up.
- Lower town by the Eure
- Quiet riverside streets, 15–20 min walk up to the cathedral; good for walkers and cyclists.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjourbon-ZHOOR |
| Thank you | Mercimair-SEE |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON seel voo pleh |
| A table for two | Une table pour deuxewn TAH-bluh poor duh |
| Can I pay by card? | Je peux payer par carte ?zhuh puh pay-yay par kart |
| Where is the cathedral? | Où est la cathédrale ?oo ay la ka-tay-DRAL |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say 'bonjour madame/monsieur' on entering any shop, bus or office; avoid: Asking a question before saying bonjour — it is read as rude
- Cheek kisses (la bise): Follow the other person's lead; one to four kisses depending on region; avoid: Initiating la bise with strangers or in business
- Addressing people: Use 'vous' and titles until invited otherwise; avoid: First names and 'tu' with older people or staff
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated in restaurants; call the waiter 'monsieur' or 'madame'; avoid: 'Garçon', snapping fingers, asking for the bill before you are finished
- Conversation: Debate is a pleasure; food, politics and philosophy are fair game; avoid: Asking about salary or religion; loud voices on trains
- Dinner at a home: Bring flowers (not chrysanthemums), chocolates or a good bottle; arrive 10–15 minutes late; avoid: Cutting the tip off a cheese wedge or asking for ketchup
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders in churches; avoid: Beachwear in town centres
Scams and watch-outs
- Cathedral tower climbs and the labyrinth are sometimes closed for services or restoration: check the cathedral site before you plan the day around them.
- The light show runs late at night in the warmer months only, and the times shift through the season: confirm the current schedule locally.
- Chartres has few hotels for its visitor numbers: book ahead, especially weekends and the early-October craft fair.
- Restaurants near the station and on the cathedral square cost more than the streets behind the town hall.
- Station toilets are open intermittently; use the cathedral or café facilities instead.
Chartres is a low-risk small city; the real issues are the uphill walk with bags, uneven old-town pavements and pickpockets only in the obvious tourist spots. Standard French city precautions are enough.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Chartres yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Chartres Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Stained glass and the floor labyrinth
- Half-timbered houses in the old town
- Evening light show on the cathedral square
- Maison Picassiette
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Chartres Cathedral official site: www.cathedrale-chartres.org/
- Chartres tourism office: www.chartres-tourisme.com/en
- Ville de Chartres: www.ville-chartres.fr
- Wikivoyage: Chartres, revision 5241170 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5241170
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Chartres
À cette adresse, s'il vous plaît
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Chartres; the US, UK, Canadian, Australian, Irish and New Zealand embassies are in Paris.
Cathedral entry is free; the tower climb and the stained-glass museum are ticketed. Confirm current hours and light-show times locally.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/chartres). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.