7.6.10

Chartres bis


Referring to the preceding post about Chartres and its cathedral here follows something more about the town itself, some other churches…

As we could see in the previous post, the cathedral is situated on the top of a hill and part of the town surrounds the cathedral. Although the town suffered from heavy bombing during WWII (the cathedral was spared), you can still find a number of old buildings, some even from around 1200. You can even find some old traces inside certain shops.
Despite the grey (slightly rainy) weather the Saturday I visited the town, the centre was quite lively.

The cathedral is not the only interesting church in Chartres. Another one is the abbey church of St. Pierre, also dating from the 13th century and with some nice stained glass windows.
A spectacular one is the St. Aignan with origins from the 13th century, but with important alterations during the 16th and 17th centuries. The interior is to a large part painted and the ceiling is especially impressive.
Another very nice part of the town is to be found downhill …

… around the river Eure.

33 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Peter! So now you're enlarging the horizons... Not only Paris! That's great; all in our benefit!!
The small river looks a bit like Colmar...

Harriet said...

I visited Chartres several years ago and today I am re-living that visit thanks to you. It's a beautiful place. Thanks for all the photos!

La Bonne Vivante said...

OOh, I especially love the photos of the river!

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Fabulous pictures, of what I've come to know, through your space, as a very tranquil and picturesque city!

Olivier said...

c'est une belle ville, qui a garde son charme, j'aime bien les photos des petites rues

Carole said...

Bonjour Peter,
Génial cette ville, nous y allons de temps en temps....
Bises et bonne journée !

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Merci Peter .. a wonderful tour, a what a charming place to go :-) my list of areas, towns and places to visit is getting bigger :-)

Cergie said...

Il ne me souvient pas avoir jamais été DANS Chartres et pourtant je l'ai vue bien souvent, massive, la cathédrale au loin ; qui a été épargnée durant la dernière guerre.
Je crois qu'elle est dans le film tiré du livre de Vercors "le silence de la mer"
Et pourtant j'aurais dû y aller car son précédent évêque (actuel archevêque de Tours) est un ami qui nous a marié et baptisé nos enfants. J'ai fait du thêatre enfant dans snotre jardin de famille avec lui et mon frère aîné.

hpy said...

J'ai visité Chartres il y a bien longtemps (on m'y a d'ailleurs prise pour un prof de danse!!!???) et tes photos me rappellent mes promenade dans les petites rues de la ville.

Ruth said...

What a gorgeous little town. Now I wish we had gotten out and walked around farther. I had no idea! It is rustic and very quaint. And the St. Aignan church is very unusual and pretty. Your photos are wonderful. Excellent posts on Chartres.

Ruth said...

Oh, and I like that outdoor labyrinth.

Catherine said...

Une promenade au bord de l'Eure, c'est inoubliable, n'est-ce pas ? Ses ponts, ses lavoirs, ses saules, la lumière magique aux abords des cours d'eau, le calme loin des zones touristiques, les fleurs, les vieilles pierres, un moulin qui ne sert plus.

Tout y est....il manque juste le soleil, mais l'atmosphère est là.

arabesque said...

the place looks very quaint and serene, it almost looks like there's noone around. ^0^
i like the scenic eure river, you don't get that picturesque beauty here, really wonderful captures! ^0^

Virginia said...

This lovely town and the churches remind me of so many small towns I visited last summer. You have some really lovely photographs here Peter. Very nice tour. I've always wanted to visit Chartes, now I have! :)
V

SusuPetal said...

So much beautiful to look in your photos: the ornaments of the churches, the small and narrow alleys, the flower market, the weeping willows by the water.

Thank you, Peter, for a visually satisfying promenade.

Bettina said...

What beautiful photos from a fantastic "fairytale" town !

Starman said...

Beautiful. Maybe I'll visit in Octobre.

Cheryl said...

It's so beautiful there!!! It's like no matter where you turn, you see a scene of beauty. Wonderful...

Parisbreakfasts said...

I've missed yr grand tours of Paris, Peter.
I must get you a Liberty flag to wave so we don't wonder off, get lost and lose focus!

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

Thank you for these two posts on Chartres, Peter! I studied the cathedral in an art history class in university and since that time have wanted to see it. Also, I have an acquaintance who lives very near the area and I have told her I would like to visit sometime. These posts really encourage me to do so! Just gorgeous these posts are, as always, with your very carefully composed photos.

Keep up your wonderful work, our champion of all things Paris (and the rest of France, too). You are creating such a legacy here. :)

Jilly said...

My goodness, we are spoiled for choice! Not only the cathedral but more churchly wonders and what a gorgeous town and river. Superb photos, superb coverage of this amazing place. bravo!

claude said...

Quel beau post, encore une fois !
En plus d'avoir une belle cathédrale à l'extérieur comme à l'intérieur, Chartres semblent une jolie ville. J'aime beaucoup les halles et la boucherie, et le reste aussi. Charmante visite que je viens de faire là. Merci, Peter !

Mo said...

A very beautiful tcathederal and wonderful town. Everytime I go I see something new.

lasiate said...

j'aime beaucoup cette annexe parisienne verdoyante et riche de culture

Cezar and Léia said...

Magnificent set of pictures , thanks so much for introducing this place!I want to visit there someday!
I'm enchanted buy your pictures!
hugs
Léia

Thérèse said...

Chartres bis, quelle bonne idée! Cela complète et donne l'occasion de voir tout ce que l'on ne voit pas en n'allant qu'à la cathédrale...

Unknown said...

So much to see! Fantastic post, Peter! St. Aignan's ceiling is amazing and so is the market structure (among many other images)!

Marie-Noyale said...

Une excellente idee cette visite de Chartres..
Tout ce que je connais c'est ce que l'on voit de l'autoroute en passant et c'est bien triste!
Meme avec un temps gris tes photos sont superbes.

Anonymous said...

So much to watch and see and enjoy!
Did you find from Sue`s ( Photowannabe )blog that "make a book from your blog " address?

Rewarding weekend to you!

Nellie said...

Ahh, the vineyards! This inspires me to go and take care of my 'lil grape plant in my backyard. Paris is so gorgeous this time of year.

Vagabonde said...

I wrote this comment on the 7th but I don’t see it, I must have read the ID word wrong. Here it is:
So many beautiful and rich pictures in you post, Peter, it would be hard to select a couple, they are all so very nice. I especially like the pics of the river and the houses around it. I have not been to Chartres, unless I was very small and don’t recall it, but with your two posts I feel that I know the city now. Merci pour ce petit tour.

sonia a. mascaro said...

Peter,
So many beautiful places...
All is gorgeous...Fantastic post!

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