Originally published on September 25, 2025.
oday was a mix of countryside and city. Our first stop was La Perrière, a very small and quiet village tucked in the Perche hills. It’s known for its cobblestone lanes and its history as a home for artisans. Quaint, but not a lot happening on a damp weekday morning.
Next, we rolled into Mortagne-au-Perche, a much larger town that was once the capital of the historic province of Perche. We stopped by the tourist office, grabbed a map, and made our way to the main attraction: the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Mortagne, built in the 16th century. The soaring Gothic arches and richly colored stained glass were the highlights—though most of the other sites didn’t quite live up to the brochure.
Back in Chartres, we ducked into the Stained Glass Museum, located just steps from the great cathedral. Here we got a rare, close-up look at salvaged panels, delicate restorations, and even a reproduction of the cathedral’s famous Angel Choir. The museum also has a working workshop where artisans continue the centuries-old tradition of repairing and crafting new windows. For die-hard glass fans, they even display glossy photographic panels of every single window inside the cathedral—talk about thorough!
We capped the evening with plans for the city’s Illuminations, when Chartres lights up dozens of its monuments in brilliant colors.
