Events calendar Chartres

Every day, at nightfall, the city lights up: this is the magic of Chartres en Lumières. Since 2003, Xavier de Richemont has been giving historic sites a new face by dressing them in lights and shimmering colours. Small blue lights, placed on the ground like Little Thumb's pebbles, trace a circuit through the city centre and the lower town (map available at the tourist office): all along this path, you can contemplate the 23 illuminated sites, sometimes animated, sometimes accompanied by music, and always surprising.

Chartres was the city of Picassiette, and these International mosaic meetings, organised by the association of 3 R, make it a very beautiful tribute. They take place one year in two, in the magnificent exhibition framework of the old chapel of the Fulbert lyceum. The greatest giovanna present their works, which compete with originality and poetry. This biennial is also an opportunity to organize conferences and debates on the theme of the mosaic, of course. And at the end of the exhibition are the Picassiette awards, which reward professional, amateur, amateur artists, and young people.

Vibrate with the rhythm of the gospel… Chartres and neighbouring communes welcome each summer the international festival of Gospel and Negro Spiritual, organised by Cyprian Josson. World-renowned singers and singers come to take place during four or five concerts that take place at the end of June, in the churches of Chartres and the surrounding cities. So if you are amateurs of Gospel and Negro spiritual, do not miss these extraordinary voices, passing to Chartres.

Over the years, craftsmen have become indispensable. Organised in Chartrexpo, this exhibition allows everyone to discover the know-how of French craftsmen, who work in the fields of building, automobile, decoration, fashion and gastronomy… It's a marathon waiting for you if you want to see everything, but you won't be disappointed, and will probably quit with ideas full of the head and gifts and full food!

Chartrestivales, they are 50 free concerts and shows to brighten your summer evenings. For over twenty years it lasts, and every year, success is with go. It must be said that brass band in the rock, via the classic one, jazz, the country, the blues and songs from all horizons, music is the festival! The concerts take place from 21:00 to 22:30 on the different places of Chartres, and although it rains, everyone will soon have made fold square Pool, sheltered under the large glass roof.

Every year, the greatest organists in the world meet in Chartres for a prestigious festival. Indeed, every Sunday afternoon, the chords of the great organ enchant the entire cathedral, to the delight of organ lovers. And every two years, it continues at the beginning of September with the International Organ Competition "Grand Prix de Chartres", the world reference of organ competitions, which consecrates the career of a young organist. So let yourself be carried away by the melodies that ricochet and resonate brilliantly between the stones and stained glass windows of the cathedral...

Arts Roaming, this is a series of free exhibitions that follow from May in the Month of May, through the entire department: Sur, Nogent-le-Roi, Chartres, Saint-Lubin-des-Joncherets, and of course Chartres welcomes each Year the works of different contemporary artists. The objective? That art should be accessible to all. Quite simply. And the quality is at the rendez-vous, for the delight of s and art lovers. In Chartres, the works are exhibited on the first floor of the Hotel du Department, Place Châtelet, but do not hesitate to make a break on the roads of the department, to meet the other artistic universes that await you with open arms.

Swimming, cycling, walking: three components of a single sport that require tone and endurance, triathlon. Youth and adults, beginners and experts, recreation and competitor groups: everyone will find their place in the club, whose aim is to promote triathlon throughout the department. It is therefore in this context that Chartres Métropole Triathlon organises sporting events, such as the Run & Bike de Chartres, the Challenge Challenge of the borders of the Eure, the Odyssey Triathlon, the green triathlon at Fontenay-sur-Eure, or the nocturnal trail of Saint-Luperce. Some of these races are open to non-licensees, subject to the provision of a medical certificate. But nothing is worth a year training…

This national festival of school and university cinema is primarily intended to develop creative and artistic initiatives in Chartres; it is also an opportunity for exchanges between students, students, teachers and audiovisual professionals. The principle? For a few days, short films (fiction, documentary, reportage, clip, animation…) made by classes or by individual students are submitted to a jury, and screened publicly. At the end of the festival, films that have taken their cue from the game are rewarded. In addition, the Cinema-clap festival is enriched by the screening of professional films, by creative workshops, concert concerts and thematic exhibitions.

At the end of the autumn, from the end of September and the beginning of October, classical music makes the Eure-et-Loir vibrate. Under the artistic direction of Eve Ruggiéri, the Opera Days place the finest opera voices, not only in the cathedral and in Chartres theatre, but also in other rooms in the department. With a rich program, these concerts tend to gather everyone around opera, musical tales and conferences. For information about the 2012 edition, exact dates and rates, please contact the Tourist Office in Chartres… and let yourself be enchanted by these dream voices.

A world perfume capital, Chartres organizes a week dedicated to discovering and celebrating scents. In the programme: a multitude of animations, exhibitions and olfactory shows, including a maze of intoxicating smell on the cathedral of the cathedral; but also workshops for the smaller ones, which will be happy to refine their smell in the most playful way it is. The big ones will not be left, because thematic conferences and the tour of perfume companies will be organised for them. And for the occasion, some restaurants indulge in perfume, serving cocktails and breathtaking aromas.

Organized by the Conservatory of Music and Dance, this festival joins in the spring to give us balm after winter. In the wonderful part of the Cloître Monastery, concerts (free!) are connected, musicians are running out. In speaking of them, they are only students of the Conservatoire and their teachers, who give to the results of a year of work. And the result is exquisite. Quite simply. The ears are open, they are not lost, they are eaten away, and they are being asked again and again.

It's the apotheosis of Chartres en Lumières. To round off the festival in style, the city lights up for the weekend. As night falls, the scenography is revealed to the public. On both Friday and Saturday evenings, the streets and squares of the town are ablaze with shows and entertainment, to the delight of young and old alike, all fascinated and transported by the magic of this nocturnal celebration. On Saturdays, the evening concludes with a big, often impressive, show that leaves us dreaming, with stars in our eyes.

The time of a week-end, the whole city returned more than four centuries back, to pay tribute to Henri IV, the only king of France to have been crowned in Chartres in 1594. In his honour, therefore, the hen is placed on the menu at all participating restaurants; and above all, the city heart beats at the pace of various animations and festivities. On this occasion, the tourist office proposes a diving in the history of Chartres, through a guided tour.

At the beginning of the summer, and history of opening the festivities, Chartrestivales organizes a water festival, which creuse his bed in the habits of the Chartrains over the years. Indeed, this festival is the occasion to noyer all its worries by participating or watching the various animations that take place along the banks of the Eure, in the lower town. In the program, and in music: rowing, fishing, canoeing, boating, crossing the Eure in the rafts… and to cap the evening, retreat of the torchlight in the water of the river! Magic and facétie throughout the party!

Every year, the associations come back, and for the occasion they recruit! Dozens of stands bloom on the boulevard de la Courtille in Place Châtelet, passing through the square of the Epars, and so you can walk in search of a leisure for the coming year. To seduce you, the associations are not sowing on the means: many demonstrations are changing the day, and you are sometimes invited to participate, or simply to chat with the members of each association. This forum is essential to find an activity at its foot and take its foot throughout the year.

If Chartres is famous for its famous cathedral, classified as a historic monument in 1862 and inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage in 1979, it is a little less for its other churches, museums and fountains. Let's straighten this out immediately and leave on foot or by bike to discover the heart of this "capital of Light and Perfume"! Admire the collegiate Saint-André Church, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Aignan Churches, and stop if your heart tells you at the Vitrail International Center, the Beaux Arts Museum or the Houses of Archeology and Salmon. In only 5 kilometers, the city will have no secrets for you or almost…

Tariff: free.

Distance: 5 km.

Difficulty: very easy.

From April to October, the town of Chartres illuminates at night: It's the magic of Chartres in Lights. The historic sites of the city then have shimmering colors, playing with architecture and perspectives. Small blue lighting, laid on the ground like the rocks of the Petit Poucet, draw a circuit through the city center and the lower city. The route map is available at the Tourist Office of the city. It marks the 26 illuminated sites, which are sometimes accompanied by musical animations. Guided tours are also organized at 22 h (17.50 €) from April 22 to October 7.

Tariff: free.

Duration: from an hour.

Difficulty: easy.

Chartrains, Chartraines, get ready to receive the new edition of Chartres' Night Urban Trail in your city. Thanks to its success last year, the event will be renewed this year. On the program, of course, two races of 7 and 14 kilometers for the most sporty, but also a race of cultural orientation to the least trained. Everyone will be able to participate and finish with a convivial soup in the middle of the night!

Tariff: 8 € for the 7 km, 12 € for the 14 km and 1 € for the orientation race. For each inscription, 1 € will be returned to the association Les Enfants de la lune.

Distance: 7 km and 12 km.

Difficulty: easy to use.

Date: place of the Cathedral in Chartres. Departure of the orientation race at 8:30 p. m. and trails at 9:30 p. m. Soup soup and protocol ceremony at midnight.

Other practical information: any unlicensed participant shall have a medical certificate stating the absence of contraindication to the practice of racing on foot.