Chartres cathedral : the royal portal

The royal portal of Notre-Dame Cathedral is dressed in its festive clothes. A succession of colourful scenographies telling the story of the last days before Christmas.

A big clock ticks away the last few minutes before the holidays. The Christmas decorations come to life: little angels twirl around the branches of the tree and Christmas candles fly up to the stars. The famous stained glass windows of the cathedral are gradually disappearing under the snowfall. Christmas has arrived... A creation by M2.Creative

Chartres en lumières celebrates Christmas

From November 29th to January 5th, the most beautiful monuments illuminated by Chartres en lumières are decked out in Christmas colours.

Find out about all the Christmas illuminations

Genesis of a scenography

How is a scenography of Chartres en lumières created? Meet the Spectaculaires scenographers who created the scenography "Chartres from yesterday to tomorrow", projected on the royal portal of the cathedral

A little history

The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres is one of the largest in France and one of the first French sites to be listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Since its first construction, 5 versions followed one another, until the cathedral we know today, which dates from the 13th century. An accidental fire in 1836 destroyed the old wooden frame. The entirely rebuilt roof in cast iron with a copper covering is now one of its particularities. Chartres Cathedral also has the richest and most complete collection of ancient stained glass windows in the world with 172 windows spread over 2600m2.