Which is the better place to spend a day?
|||
My choice would be Rouen. The cathedral is every bit as beautiful as Chartres, though the Chartres stained glass is equalled perhaps only by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.
I find Rouen a more interesting city, the two cathedrals apart, with n beautiful old part of the town, several other churches worth looking at, and good museums.
I also think there is a wider choice of good restaurants in Rouen.
|||
My choice would be Chartres, particularly if Malclom Miller
is there as your guide. When you finish his tour, you will
know more about church architecture, history and reading
stain glass than 99% of the people on the planet.
There is also the world famous labyrinth which hopefully
you will be able to walk.
|||
We%26#39;ve enjoyed both...for different reasons ..but my vote goes to CHARTRES with it%26#39;s magnificent cathedral (in the top three of anyones most beautiful buildings in the world) and its extensive and lovingly restored, old quarter. Both Chartres and Rouen are easily enough reached from Paris (70-75 mins), with frequent direct train service (no train changes en route) from Paris.
But do a little personal research on your own and decide for yourself. You can%26#39;t go wrong with either city. You can start with some of this--
http://www.ville-chartres.fr
www.chartres-tourisme.com/index1024.php
http://www.chartres.com/
http://www.chartres-csm.org/
http://www.ville-rouen.fr
www.rouentourisme.com/default.asp…
P.S. Rnady...there is another labyrinth that you can walk, carved into the grass, in the gardens at the back/below the cathedral.
|||
At Chartres the only day you can walk the labrynth is on Fridays. This is a sort of meditation/spiritual thing done by Christians. If you do go to Chartres, Malcom Miller is definitely worth doing a tour with. Just be sure to get to the restaurants before 2 PM as they all stop serving then, at leasts the ones we wanted to try, but we did find a wine bar with good food right across from the Cathedral. The old part of Chartres was interesting to walk around as well.
|||
You can also go for a paddle in a kayak from Chartres, or visit a house that has been completely covered in pique assiette.
If you are arriving by car get off the highway and take the nat%26#39;l road... it is rather incredible to see this immense cathedral rising up from the fields at such a distance, it really gives you a since of awe that the place must have inspired in travelers arriving in the from small villages.
A great daytrip with splendid cathedral is Reims... the Chagall windows are breath taking and there is just something about the place that makes our fav. in Europe. ALways fun to do some champagne tasting afterwards, too!
|||
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;My choice would be Chartres, particularly if Malclom Miller
is there as your guide. When you finish his tour, you will
know more about church architecture, history and reading
stain glass than 99% of the people on the planet%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
It is also worth noting that in addition to Mr. Miller%26#39;s wonderful, twice daily cathedral tours, he is also available for private tours of Chartres as well. What this man doesn%26#39;t know about the cathedral, the city, the history---well, probably doesn%26#39;t exist. You can contact him via e-mail (if he is at home he is usually prompt in replying to e-mails) to find out more about the details and rates--
MALCOLM MILLER TOUR INFO--
…wanadoo.fr/.diocese.chartres/…guieng.htm
|||
Well, I have never been to Rouen, to be perfectly honest...but I did take a looksie at the website provided in an earlier reply (From KDSail, I think) and I have to say I found Rouen rather large and industrialish looking, from the photographs on the cities website. I could be wrong! But, from my own personal experience in Chartres, it is much smaller, more a town than a city, and so based ON THAT ALONE, I vote for CHARTRES!!!!
Chartres has alot of winding, narrow streets, but I have to confess I was dissapointed in that all the shops along such streets were really trendy shops, like high end (expensive!) clothing, or shoes, or handbags...that type of thing. I noted that the place/scene was really crawling with young hip people, and thus the trendy shops, I suppose....or vice versa, perhaps? teehee! I have to say though, my mother and I stopped into a cafe/pattiserie and had the most incredible chocolate cake I ever had! I did not even know how to say cake, (which I found out in French is nowhere even CLOSE to cake)...so I just had to point to the neighboring table, and eagerly nodded and gesticulated until the waitress got the idea!!
Oh...Beauvais is always an option, too.
lasscass
|||
I have been to both. Rouen is a nice place to stop for lunch. My impression is that it is a college/business town. The cathedral is beautiful.
However, I would pick Chartres. And I agree with the other posters - take Malcolm Miller%26#39;s tour. Here is his website: …wanadoo.fr/.diocese.chartres/…guieng.htm
|||
I would vote for Rouen, it is such a nice city with many quaint houses from the 16th and 17th century, painted with vivid colours. You have the a��tre St Maclou with its bone decoration (former cemetery, incredible), St Maclou church, and the cathedral. You also have the souvenir of Joan of Ark who was burnt at the stake there. You have the very good restaurant La Toque d%26#39;or on Place du Vieux Marche. The surroundings are industrial as said in a precious post but you can%26#39;t see that from the center anyway.
|||
Salut, raphy!
Alors, c%26#39;est vrai ce que l%26#39;on dit. Les beaux esprits se rencontrent, n%26#39;est-ce pas?
;%26gt;)
A+
(Short version in English: Great minds think alike.)
No comments:
Post a Comment