THE following scheme may perhaps prove of use to those who have but a few hours to spend in Chartres and wish to find their way quickly about the picturesque but tortuous streets of the old, lower town.

Leaving the station, go down the Rue Jean de Beauce, cross to the far corner of the Place ChÂtelet, go down the Rue Sainte MÊme, take the first turning to the left down the Rue du Cheval Blanc, and keeping up to the right, where the street divides, you come out opposite the west front of the Cathedral. Go down the Rue des Changes (opposite the south porch of the Cathedral), and turning to the left before reaching the Place Billard (the old site of the Castle of the Counts) reach the Place de la Poissonnerie (fish-market: Maison du Saumon). Pass on into the Rue S. Eman, and turning to the right pass Queen Bertha’s staircase, which is in the Rue des Écuyers, opposite the Rue du Bourg. Bearing up the Rue des Écuyers, follow the Rue S. Pierre. You leave the Church of S. Aignan on your right and arrive at the old Abbey Church of S. PÈre. Leaving the Place S. Pierre by the Rue du Pont S. Hilaire at the eastern corner of it, cross the water and turn sharp to the left down the Rue Foulerie, which skirts the river with its picturesque tanneries and wash-houses. You pass on the right the street leading down to the Porte Guillaume. Continuing, the Rue de la Foulerie becomes the Rue de la Tannerie, and the Rue de la Tannerie the Rue Massacre. Cross the river and visit the ruined Church of S. AndrÉ, then go down the Rue de la BrÈche. The Chapel of Notre-Dame de la BrÈche is on the right in this street, which runs into the Place Drouaise. Before reaching this take the turn to the left up the Rue Muret, which winds up into the Rue du Cardinal Pie (formerly called the Rue du MarchÉ de Filasse), from which a picturesque archway leads through the old cloister buildings into the Rue S. Ives, which opens on the north porch of the Cathedral. The Bishop’s Palace is now on your left.

The promenade[104] known as the Tour de la Ville, at the foot of the ancient ramparts and round the old moat of the town, should not be omitted. You will start naturally from the Place ChÂtelet, down the Promenade des Charbonniers, which brings you to the Place Drouaise, and so on across the Pont Neuf to the Porte Guillaume and the Boulevard de la Porte Morard. Hence the Rue du Pont de la Courtille leads to the Place S. Michel, and thence by the Boulevard Chasles to the Place des Epars.

The Rue RÉgnier leads from the Boulevard Chasles to the Place des Halles.

Some magnificent views of the Cathedral and the town, and ‘bits’ of the old walls and moat, will be obtained in the course of this circuit.

Expeditions.

The ChÂteau de Maintenon (Duc de Noailles) lies on the line between Chartres and Paris, and, with its waterworks, is well worth a visit. Other chÂteaux in the neighbourhood are those of Villebon, near Courville, which belongs to the Marquis de Pontoi-PoncarrÉ, and Éclimont, near Gallardon, the property of the Duc de La Rochefoucauld.

Dates of the Chief Festivals at Chartres.

May 31.—Notre-Dame du Pilier.

August 15.—Feast of the Assumption.

September 8 and 15; December 8.—On September 15 and December 8 a magnificent procession through the Crypt takes place in the evening.

{487kb} {2mb}
Map