train to Chartres from Paris

Its a regional train, no reservation required. Just buy at the Montparnasse station. Travel after 9 and return after 8 and if you're 60 or over, you'll get a discount.

Is this something I could buy at a location other than the Montparnasse station? or just purchase the day of excursion? Thank you!

You can buy it at any station, but why bother chasing around just to buy a ticket? Snag it when you get up to Montparnasse.

awesome. thanks!!!!

Hi Christie, it's an easy and interesting trip. I bought tickets at the station about thirty minutes before the train departed. Cost was right at 13 Euros each way. Easy walk from the train station to Chartres cathedral itself. Perhaps the most impressive cathedral in France. Reims second then Notre Dame. Sacre-Coeur and Sainte-Chapelle are wonderful to visit as well. Others will rearrange the "must see" order but you can't go wrong with a visit to any of them. None of them will disappoint you. Enjoy! Emma

Thanks Emma!

Hi, Christie There is more to the town than just the cathedral. If you have RS book, then you know he has a self guided walk of the old town. If not, you can stop by the Tourist Bureau for a map of a similar tour. There is a large pedestrian-only area of shops. We were following RS guide and took the suggested detour up rue de la Pie to place Marceau. I loved this area so much that we didn't resume the tour, but wandered around here. You could spend an hour at the cathedral. Do the self-guided tour. Grab lunch. Then window shop/shop for real for another hour or two depending on your stamina. Just a reminder in case you have not taken trains before, you need to run your ticket through the yellow machine in the station before boarding the train. At Montparnasse, the machine is next to the train to Chartres. At Chartres, the machine is near the entrance.
Enjoy.

Absolutely! Go! Chartres is a splendid town. I lived near there for about a year and found myself there almost every weekend.
If you need any recommendations on restaurants, do let me know. Also, when leaving Montparnasse, when facing the tracks, the train usually leaves towards the left side. Do try to get there a bit early and board the train as soon as it arrives, as these trains do tend to fill very quickly (it goes to Versailles, Rambouillet, Nogent-le-Rotrou, and Le Mans, so lots of people go to these places for work) and you don't want to have to stand up the whole way or get a seat across from the toilet.

Hi Christie - I just wanted to 2nd the RS walking tour found in his Paris book. It was so, so good! My husband and I were there this past March and absolutely loved it. :) Also bought our train tickets upon arrival at the station the morning we went, it was easy.