tower of chartres cathedral

It is quite narrow and a spiral stair with about 300 stairs but it is worthy! The view from both cathedral and the panoramic of the city makes it amazing. Be aware that it is very windy up there. I though it a bit expensive though... € 5,50. But the cathedral is being renovated and it looks way better now and it is not even finished yet...

Take the time and the train to Chartre to see the magnificent, ancient cathedral. We were VERY fortunate to tour it with a wonderful, knowledgable 81-year old guide (Rick Steves recommended this tour guide but who knew we would really be IN the church when he was conducting a tour! This was an astounding coincidence!) He interpreted just one set of the immense stained glass windows this cathedral is famous for. The windows, >100 of them, tell the story of the bible for people living in a time when there was no paper. The cathedral is located in a lovely town with pleasant restaurants and shops.

It is well worth the €7 to climb the north tower of Chartres Cathedral. Once up there, be prepared for it to be very windy and cold, even on warm days. You are very exposed up there. The views of Chartres, you can clearly see the layout of the old town and countryside beyond. Once at the top you can view the church bells and fantastical gargoyles close up. You can walk all the way around and find a place to hide from the wind if you are lucky.

Having seen inside and outside the Cathedral, it was a fun climb up the 298 steps of the Tower to see the Bells and also for the panoramic views around Chartres

I already mentioned this in my review about the Cathedrale. It should be an integral part of your Cathedrale visit. It's a must. The crypt, however, has very little to offer.

The climb up the tour is quite an aerobic workout, but worth it for the views of the upper parts of the Cathedral and of the town. Beautiful. Well worth doing

We liked the tour of the crypts, although it's only in French. A real shame as the leaflet you are given doesn't give as much details as the talk. Currently being restored, so don't expect to see pristine cathedral inside, just enjoy what you can.

The excitement of climbing up the narrow medieval stairs. Remarkable up/close view of the architecture and its decoration. Fantastic view of this charming town.

The light show (only shown during the summer) was great and not to be missed. An inspirational religious experience.

It take around 15 min to get to the top with comfortable speed. The view is nice up their which I say worth the walk, do note walking up and down are through the same stairs so I would imagine it take much longer to climb up during holidays.

Visited in April 2013, paid the extra to climb the tower which seems strange to have to pay inside a church but these historic sites don't preserve themselves. The climb up the stairs was steep and took a while but the sense of history in the walls around you and the amazing views once at the top made it worthwhile, even the kids liked and they were Cathedralled out by that stage. Chartres is a pretty town and if you are going that way it really is worth just stopping by for a few hours and checking it out.

All that is said below. Lovely. Don't know if it was something special because our visit coincided with All Saints Day, but the bells rang about 4:45 for more than 5 minutes. Cold rainy day, so hubby and I had the place to ourselves. It was something to see those huge bells in action with my fingers stuffed in my ears. : ))) BONG! 15 euro for the both of us. Geez, after the $1000s spent on air fare, hotel, meals, train tickets, seems pretty fussy to complain about the entrance fee.

Great location away from bustling Paris. The historical significance of this cathedral is worth the visit. It is beautiful inside and out.

We walked the 300 plus steps to the top of the bell tower. What a view of the city and the Cathedral in ways you cannot see from below. It was well worth the calories walked off. More room for croissants.

This was something I didn't expect but I'm pleased I put in the effort. It's not just the Cathedral that you will see from a different angle but the city of Chartres and the surrounding countryside. Fabulous.