Chartres Cathedral, is it under construction in Sept. 2012

Donna , We were in Chartres in sept. 2011 just a year before you will be there. There was at that time some major restoration in progress in the altar vicinity but in addition to this being a common occurance in many european sights ( i'm sure you are familiar with this ) , it really did not impede our ability to thoroughly appreciate and enjoy our time there . The cathedral is magnificent , DON'T miss it . As well , we went early in the am ( easy 1hr 15 min trip from gare montparnasse) and walked through the old town as well . It is truly one of those " back doors " that rick talks about . strolling along the river eure below the cathedral is hard to describe . I don't mean to be melodramatic , but..................Enjoy , Sreve

Donna, there was a discussion of the extent of the construction on this board in late May or early June. Do a search for Chartres and you should be able to find it. The discussion was very useful in my decision of whether to go or not.

Ralph, Been to Reims in 1999. Stayed there two nights. Wonderful place and I love champagne. and Sreve, I think we are going to go. Sreve is right, there is always construction on these cathedrals. I found train tix and they are about 15 euros apiece and only an hour train ride. Don't want to go too far as our time is limited in Paris. Only four full days.
Spent a week in Paris in '99 and saw alot. This time we want to re-see some sights, see some new sights and visit with our son who is studying at one of the universities as a semester abroad program. Lucky him!!! Thank you all for your help!!

James , I'm soryy that you misinterptreted my back door comment. Obviously Chartres cathedral is hardly a back door . I would however like to point out that wandering down by the river rather than blasting through the cathedral and splitting back to paris certainly is. Chacun a son gout et un bon journee !!!

If you go to Chartes, you must take the guided tour with Malcom Miller!

If you want to hear Malcolm Miller's spiel, might be a good idea to make sure you're there in the morning. Last summer we got there in time for his afternoon talk but there weren't enough people in the group and he refused to do it. Kind of curmudgeonly in addition to being a fount of knowledge!

Try www.flickr.com and see if any recent photos posted of the cathedral show construction. You might also want to post this question on tripadvisor.

Was there earlier in the year with my parents who were extremely excited to see the cathedral. We left extremely disappointed. Hadn't known there was construction and couldn't get anywhere near the altar and tons of the windows were covered up. Dorothy - I am so relieved to see we weren't the only ones who walked away with a negative opinion of Malcolm Miller. Our experience was so negative (on top of curmudgeonly, he was downright arrogant) that my parents and I and another woman backed out of taking the tour before it even started. My parents refused to buy any of his books in the gift shop, even though they were the only way to see the covered up parts.

After years of wanting to see his tour, I arrived at the afternoon tour and no one was there. This was my second time he wasn't there.

Thanks to everybody for your postings. We decided to stay in Paris. We are only there for four and a half days and there is just so much to do. This is our second trip to Paris. Was there in 1999 for seven days. This time we will revisit some of our favorite sites/museums, and visit places we did not have time for.
Next time we go, we will be sure take a car and make the drive out of Paris to Chartes, and the Normandy area. That will be something to look forward to next time.