Now, this may be difficult to believe, but Paris is not the only city with Cathedrals!
Crazy, right?
Chartres is a commune (a municipality) of France about an hour and a half southwest of Paris. It’s greatest draw is its towering gothic style cathedral. Its quiet streets are a welcome change from the crowds in Paris, and I got to try my first authentic French macarons!
After returning to Paris, my friends and I went to the Latin quarter for dinner and tried some of my favorite french foods yet!
Getting to Chartres and First Impressions
As our bus climbed up the hill, I was thrilled to see that it was almost exactly like I’d imagined a small french town to look like. On a hill by the Eure river, a cluster of ceramic-tile roofs surround a giant castle at the top, except instead of a castle, it’s a cathedral with two mismatching spires that rise up into cold, gray sky.
The Cathedral at Chartres
The Chartres Cathedral is one of the biggest in France, and world famous for a few reasons. One of those is for the fact that it’s still standing, it’s nearly 1000 years old!
With the structure intact, the cathedral’s lovely stained glass has survived too. It’s pretty difficult to compete with the magical glass at Sainte Chapelle, but the Chartres Cathedral brings a bit of local history into its stained glass windows because they depict the different craftsmen’s guilds who commissioned their respective panels.
(sorry yall I don’t remember which one)
Another can’t miss part of the cathedral is the series of incredibly detailed tympanums above the doorway. Up there, people and demons alike are screaming and running around in a crowded, chaotic ‘last judgement’ sculpture. I’m not kidding when I say it’s pure insanity! According to our guide, there are five THOUSAND figures carved into the edifice of the cathedral.
Trying real French Macarons
I’ve had macarons at Disneyworld, but I’d been looking forward to getting the real deal here in France for a while now.
After leaving the cathedral, I decided it was time to live my dream. My macaron dream.
I got up to the counter, and was pretty overwhelmed with all of the flavors they had to choose from. All of the labels were all in french too, of course, which confused me even more.
So I decided to take a crazy chance. I knew that ‘fraises’ means strawberries, and ‘mûres’ means blackberries, and so when it was my turn to order, I deliberately chose 3 flavors whose names I didn’t recognize. As you would expect, this experiment had varying results.
The first one was half white/ half yellow, and it was labeled “yuzu/noix de coco”. This one tasted sugary-sweet with little bit of citrus flavor. Upon looking it up, my friend told me it was coconut mixed with yuzu fruit, which is kind of like a lemon.
The second macaron was called “cassis” with a soft pink color and dark red filling. It was super sweet and tasted like raspberry jam. Close, WTB, but no cigar! It was black currant flavored, a jelly made from dark woodland berries.
The third and final macaron was the one I was most excited to try: “cointreau”! One half of the cookie was white with orange sugar crystals, and the other half was orange. This one, unfortunately, was pretty stale and tasted like orange-flavored medicine. I was totally stumped by its flavor, and that’s probably understandable considering that it turned out to be orange-flavored triple sec liqueur.
Despite that wacky last one, I had so much fun with my little experiment, and I would totally recommend trying a bunch of crazy macaron flavors when you visit France!
Exploring the Latin Quarter in Paris
After getting back to Paris, we set out right away for a little taste of Parisian nightlife!
We made plans to visit the Latin Quarter, as there are supposed to be a bunch of street performers there at night. We specifically sought out the Greek corner, where it was also rumored they have a bunch of fun traditions, like breaking plates!
When we got to the Greek corner, we didn’t see any street performers, and assumed we were probably there too early. Eventually, we settled on a tiny, cozy restaurant where they specialized in fondou. A dinner of melted cheese? Basically a dream come true. We also decided to be brave and try escargot, a daunting but necessary french culinary experience. As it turns out, snails are amazing! If you can get over the whole eating-a-slimy-dirt-bug part, I can promise you that you’ll only taste the garlic and butter 🙂
And on that slimy-dirt-bug note, this journal entry is done!
My Verdict:
Chartres is an adorable little town, and I’m glad I got to see the small-town side of France. The cathedral is magnificent, and going inside is an absolute must when visiting, though you should also stand outside just to take in that crazy hellfire tympanum. Walking through the streets of Chartres was also lovely, though admittedly, we had a bit of trouble finding places to eat that were open during this time of year.
Overall, Chartres is a great option for a day trip from Paris, especially if you enjoy the art in architecture. It’s a nice break from the noise and bustle of Paris, though I don’t recommend spending more than an afternoon here.
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Tomorrow, we’re heading to the Cluny Museum in Paris to see the Unicorn Tapestries, so be sure to check that out! (but only if you want to hehe)