Chartres and around for 3 nights?

I made a quick trip to Chartres last spring on the way to southwestern France, mainly because I hoped to walk the labyrinth in the cathedral. Learned that the labyrinth is almost always covered with chairs, and is rarely available for walking. Its a charming town,but I felt 2 nights and one day was more than enough time to spend there.

Maintenon (direction Paris from Chartres) will only be a half day trip- it can easily be done in the morning. Nogent-le-Rotrou (direction Le Mans from Chartres) is also worth a detour. So is Le Mans.

You could stop off at Maintenon en route to Chartres, or do it as a partial day trip from Chartres once you are settled in your hotel there. Chartres has its charms but I'm not sure it really has 3 days' worth of sights to see.

Have you visited the Loire Valley chateaux? I'm guessing yes, since you say you've been to France multiple times. But in case not: If (instead of Chartres) you stayed for 3 days in Blois or Amboise, you could take van tours to some of the more popular chateaux at the eastern end of the region.

Chartres makes a great day trip from Paris. I imagine it would make a sweet one-night sleep, too. But 3 days would be a bit much.

You could have a very pleasant 2 days in Burgundy. Perhaps that is someplace you have been before, but I'll bet there are parts of it you have not seen. From Beaune to Strasbourg is about 3 hours by train, probably less if you drive.

Three nights . is essentially , two full days . If you do some homework , you will find that the cathedral is worth the better part of a full day, Wandering through the old town will also take a fair amount of time . Since we visited on a day trip from Paris , I was sorry that we did not visit the museum of stained glass . I will be back in Paris this coming Autumn and will not miss it this time - http://www.centre-vitrail.org/en/

I am of the camp that says Chartres is worth the overnight. 2-3 days makes for a nice time.

Appreciate everyone's input. We will definitely go to Chartres. Still deciding. Might just spend 2 nights there and one in Paris on the way to Strasbourg? Still considering? Thank you again

On Sunday most of the shops in town were closed on our visit in Sept 2014. I've heard that in small towns many are closed on Monday too. It's a nice town and I could see using it as a base, although i think train service isn't all that frequent to other towns.

If it was me I'd look instead at staying in a larger town such as Le Mans or some other place you can find by looking at a map and train schedules. Here is one such map: http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Europe%20World/Resources/France-sncf.gif

I've never been to Le Mans but, just as in your experience, I've enjoyed all the places we've gone in France and part of the adventure is trying someplace completely new.

Chartes was definately the "wow" moment of our Loire to the South of France Tour. We thought the 2 night stay was perfect. Chartes is a very walkable town.

We took a guided tour of the Cathedral to view the finest medieval stained glass we've ever seen. The highlight was the amazing night time light show that was projected on the Cathedral facade.

Here is what I found on line: "Chartres cathedral labyrinth opens for walking every Friday from 10am to 5pm, from Lent (between February 20 and March 20) until All Saints' Day (November 1)." We lucked out when we went, as we went early so we could take one of Malcolm Miller's famous tours of the Cathedral. When we arrived, just before 10:00 on a Friday in May we found ourselves almost alone in that astounding space.

We were able to walk the labyrinth with only two other people. It was a quiet and worthwhile journey. When we finished Malcolm's tour later in the day the labyrinth was so full it looked as if the walkers were treading on the heels of those in front of them. Not a very contemplative experience if you have to worry about being stepped upon, I would think.