After picking you up at your hotel, during the 1 hour drive (approximately) to Chartres, your guide will give you an introduction to the city of Chartres as well as Gothic Art.
Located about 50 miles southwest of Paris, in the town of Chartres , the « Capital of Light and Perfume », the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Chartres is without doubt one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world. The cathedral that we see today was built over a 26-year period after the fire of 1194. Several other churches and an earlier cathedral had already stood in the same location when work on the current cathedral started, including an impressive roman style cathedral which remains can be seen predominantly in the crypt and the west towers. Upon your arrival, you will have an exhaustive private guided visit of the cathedral (inside and outside).
Ornamented with over four thousand sculptures, the cathedral has been an important destination for travelers since the 12th C many of whom that come to venerate its famous relic: the “Santa Camisa” (the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ’s birth), the others that come to admire the remarkable collection of 176 stain-glass windows that create a relatively dark but richly colored interior in which the light filtering through the myriad narrative and symbolic windows is a main source of illumination. (Some myths believe that nowadays people cannot create anymore the same blue color called “Chartres blue” which dominates the windows of Chartres).
The labyrinth, in the center of the nave , one of the biggest labyrinth ever built in French cathedrals and the crypt beneath the cathedral are 2 other “not to miss” attractions inside before focusing on the outstanding architectural structure : the cathedral towers built in different styles, , the façade with the detailed sculptures and statues, , the astronomical clock of the 15thC, the nave and flying buttresses and the bishops garden where you can enjoy the view over the old city and the labyrinth garden of the 18th C.
After the private visit of the Cathedral, you will enjoy a stroll around the city before heading back to Paris.
Extra charge for a pick up and/or a drop off outside Paris
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