Chartres
France
A Gothic cathedral with most of its medieval glass still in place, seen for miles across the wheat before you reach the town
Photo by Ian Kirkland on Unsplash
Photos by Stanislav Lvovsky, Pascal Bernardon, Mick Haupt and Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
April to October (the light shows run every evening from spring to the new year)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 58mm in Oct
Where it is
48.45°N, 1.49°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Bring binoculars, or borrow some; the windows are high and the stories are at the top
- Come on a Friday if you want to walk the labyrinth, and check the cathedral’s site first because services close it
- Stay the night rather than taking the last train, because the light show starts at dusk
- Take the guided tour of the crypt, which is the only way into it
- Walk down to the river and look back up at the spires, which do not match
Chartres travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuro, and cards are taken everywhere, contactless included. There is nothing here that needs cash except the odd candle in the cathedral.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines are in the streets just below the cathedral and around Place des Épars. Use a bank’s own and refuse the conversion.
Avoid these
- Euronet
- standalone machines in shops and tourist streets
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- BNP Paribas
- Société Générale
- La Banque Postale
French bank machines are normally free on their side for foreign cards. Refuse the conversion offer.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
Very safeVery safe. The only things to watch are the stairs down to the lower town, which are steep and slippery in the wet, and a bag left on a chair at a café on the cathedral square on a coach-tour afternoon.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the stairs to the lower town in the rain — steep, worn stone, and slippery when wet
- the cathedral square on a busy afternoon — tour groups, and the bag-on-a-chair theft that follows them
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThe local sweet is the Mentchikoff, a praline wrapped in meringue and white chocolate. Pâté de Chartres is baked in a pastry crust. Lentils and Beauce wheat in most things otherwise; the better restaurants are a few streets away from the cathedral square rather than on it.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Chartres
No Holistay rentals in Chartres yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Chartres on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Paris Orly ORY
2hfrom the airport· 71 km as the crow flies
About 2h by public transport into Paris and the train from Montparnasse; about an hour by hire car.
Also worth pricing: Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG — rER B across Paris to Montparnasse, then the train; allow two and a half hours.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
