Chartres--should we make sure to stop? How much time to devote to it?

Well this is a difficult question because Chartres is absolutely amazing! Amazing for the cathedral, for the stained glass, for the architecture, for the history and for Mary's Veil. For all that, I would say that Chartres is a must.
But after a long flight, I would never drive. I never have so I can't tell you how dangerous it would be but I would be extremely hesitant.

Yes, stopping in Chartres will be well worth your time. I think 3 or 4 hours would be long enough to see the cathedral, have lunch and wander around a little. Instead of stopping in Chartres on your way to Angers, why not stop on your way to Paris? We drove our rental car from the Loire to Chartres, dropping it off there, spent time in the town, then took the train into Paris (Gare Montparnasse). One word of caution, at the time (2000), the Chartres train station did not have luggage storage, but the rental car agency (EuropeCar) allowed us to leave our luggage in the car during our visit. Undoubtedly, things have changed, so check this out while planning.

I remember Chartres from going there with my parents at about your older girls' age. I remember it well enough that I've made it a stop on our upcoming trip to show it to my husband. It is truly beautiful.

Like previous poster, we are going to stop in Chartres on our way back to Paris from the Loire valley and drop our rental car off there before taking the train. We plan to arrive in Chartres in mid afternoon and spend the night. Visit the Cathedral, walk the town, and see the light show. Luckily for us, it gets dark late in May.

So while Chartres is worth the visit, probably safer/more enjoyable for all to do it while returning to Paris, not just after getting off a plane.

Really easy. Train to Chartres and visit for a day. The cathedral (of course) and the town are really nice. From Chartres it's 2 to 3 1/2 hours (depending on the train) to Angers. The shorter route changes in Le Mans. The longer route goes back into Paris first. If you buy your train tickets early, it's very affordable.

I prefer to rent a car when I need it and always try to get over jet lag before I start driving. If you will be in Angers for awhile, rent the car when you leave. If you plan daily drives from Angers, lump your Angers sights to the early part of your stay and rent your car when it's time to get out of town.

Yes, Chartres is well worth a visit, one of Europe's greatest cathedrals. A few hours would be enough to see the cathedral and surroundings. If Malcolm Miller is giving a tour, that would be well worthwhile, but I don't think he does that every day any more.

But I agree about the risks of driving after an overnight flight -- to your family and to others on the road. I believe there's direct TGV service between CDG and St-Pierre-le-Corps, which is not far from Angers. My suggestion would be to take that train and then rent a car for a much shorter drive to Angers.

Then, after your time in the lower Loire, drive up to Chartres, visit there, drop the car, and take an easy train to Gare Montparnasse in Paris. Alternatively, Chartres is an easy day trip from Paris, but why not see it on your way there since you'll want to drop the car anyway?

Thanks for the replies so far! Mom2bunky, glad to hear it made such a memorable impression upon you! That's what I'm hoping to do for our girls...

Stopping in Chartres isn't an option for the return to Paris because we have a bike tour scheduled at 5:30p--we'll already need to leave Angers early enough to get into Paris, return our car, get settled, and then get to that. Plus I imagine the girls will be so excited to get to Paris that I don't think they'd really appreciate anything we did on the way. We aren't really worried about driving first thing--we're lucky that we get to take a 9h direct flight into CDG that leaves in the evening, so it's usually pretty easy to get decent sleep on. Plus we're used to landing and hopping right in the car--we've both driven in France/Europe quite a bit, so it's not a concern, though I do prefer to limit the driving time on our first day, which is why I'm looking at Chartres as a stopover (we'd only need to drive about 90 minutes before stopping). I'm really debating between the car or the train, and the Chartres visit seems like it could be a major pro pushing us towards the car. But, we're also still waiting for the train tickets to be released--prices and times could also sway us!

Amen momo516. I often drive on arrival in France. Although YMMV.

Chartes area also has one of the largest swimming pool and scuba diving pools in the world.

Everytime people misspell Chartres or pronounce it wrong, I blush.
Char-tres. (Shar-tre)

I absolutely loved Chartres and would recommend that you try to fit it in your itinerary if you can. We spent a half day, including the Malcom Miller tour which was wonderful, but I wish we had had more time to explore the town. Whatever you decide, I hope your family has a grat trip!

Hi,

I've cleaned up a side discussion. It's great to consider safety and to provide words of caution. Let's also assume the best in each other. Thanks everyone!

Now, back to Char-tres... ;)

We arrived at CDG from the US at 11 ish and drove the 90 minutes to Chartres. We were able to see the Cathedral, have dinner and watch the light show. We were tired by then but I don't think the drive in the middle of the day is risking safety and the light show was was impressive in itself. Could you stay your first night in Chartres?

Thanks for the input, all! We've decided to go ahead and choose Chartres as our lunch and stopover point. I wish we could stay for the light show, or the MM tour, but we'll have to put those on the back burner for another visit. We plan to eat, see the cathedral, and wander down to the river before continuing on to our final desitanstion. I'm sure it will be a great first impression of France for my nieces, and will hopefully create a lasting memory for them :)

I recommend Les Feuillantines for a delicious lunch-----of if you're in a more pizza mood go to La Passacaille on the way to the cathedral.

There's also La Voute Romane, it's not as good as La Passacaille, but it has a stunning view in front of the cathedral.

We actually spent three nights there.