Chartres (Before Covid) - Chartres Cathedral and Lunch at La Table du Marche

Here's another quick pre-Covid travel post. 

On the second day of our short visit to Paris, the Missus wanted to explore a bit. We had visited Versailles on a previous trip, so this time around I thought we'd check out Chartres and the Cathedral, often said to be the best Gothic Cathedral in Europe.

Getting there was quite easy from Gare Montparnasse.

And it seems that everyone is invited to take the one hour ride to Chartres.

And once there; well, it's easy to find your way to the Cathedral.

You really can't miss it.

While walking to the Cathedral we passed this amazing mural.

 Doing some research, I found that the mural is of Jean Moulin a hero of the French Resistance in World War II who lived in Chartres. Read more about him in the link to the Wikipedia page above.

The Cathedral is indeed grand. It is said that there were four to five churches on this spot, dating back to the 4th century!

There is quite a bit to see if you have the time. We just decided to stroll around and enjoy some of the highlights.

There's a worn statue in Place de la Cathedrale. It is of Fulbert of Chartres who was Bishop of the Cathedral when it burned in 1020. Fulbert devoted his time to rebuilding the Cathedral which was completed around 1145.

There are beautiful Rose Windows over every entrance.

The Church is dedicated to Mary and there are signs of that everywhere.

 Many pilgrims come to the church to see the Black Madonna (above). There's some really good information on why the Madonna is black here. But you might say, the Madonna pictured above isn't black. Well, several years back the Cathedral was part of a huge restoration project and all those years of soot and such was removed from the statue; it was very controversial to say the least.

A few blocks from the Cathedral is the Marché aux Légumes - the produce market. And since it was Saturday, we took some time to check ot out.

It's always fun visiting these places and watching the locals go about their daily lives.....

By this point we were getting a bit hungry. Right at the edge of the market is La Table du Marché - the Market Table. So we thought why not?

The staff was very friendly and welcoming. At places like this, it's always helpful to check out the plat du jour....and we ended up ordering two of the daily specials.

The friendly woman working was delighted that the Missus ordered the Andouillette, which She had loved in Lyon.

While not quite at that level; it was literally bursting with offal-y goodness.

I was thrilled to see Boudin Blanc as a daily special.

And while, like the Missus, this wasn't quite as good a my favorite, it was quite mild, but nicely sautéed and I enjoyed the dressing on the greens.

The service was very warm; the prices, since we're used to Paris prices seemed like a bargain; 10 Euros for the Andouillette and just 7 for the Boudin Blanc!!!

La Table du Marché
11 Place Billard
28000 Chartres, France

We left satisfied and ready for a nap when we returned to Paris!

Comments

[kat]

been 10 years since we visited Chartres, what a beautiful town.

[Kirk]

Yes, it's quite a beautiful town Kat!