The day immediately following my return from Egypt, I headed out for my first day-trip to one of the cities surrounding Paris. For this trip, a couple of my Alliance Francaise classmates and I chose to visit Chartres, a town located about 60 miles southwest of Paris.

Chartres, France

Chartres is best known for its Cathedrale Notre Dame, that sits on a high point within the town. While the Notre Dame cathedral located in Paris is far more famous throughout the world, Chartre’s Notre Dame is, in fact, the largest cathedral in France. Construction on this magnificent structure began in 1205 and took over 65 years to complete. It is now considered by many to be the finest Gothic cathedral in all of France. Evidently, Chartres was also a great centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and the cathedral still exhibits many of the famous relics of this period including the silk tunic worn by Mary on the day she gave birth to Jesus.

While the church is the centerpiece of this town, it’s not the only reason to visit. Walking around the town is a pleasure in-and-of-itself. Chartre’s is full of beautiful winding streets that are a joy to explore. Additionally, the city is built on the left bank of the Eure River, which runs through the town. Small, yet romantic, stone bridges take one back-and-forth across the river. There are a select few restaurants that sit right on the water that make for a wonderful lunch break during your visit.

The Bridges of Chartres, France

The round-trip ticket only cost about €27 and travel time is only 1-hour each way. You could easily see much of what Chartres has to offer in a few hours, making it very simple to only spend half a day on this excursion. Overall, this was a very successful trip and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get out of the city for a day.

Gorge du Tarn, Midi-Pyrénées Region, France

I have kayaked the river two times before and it is always a breathtaking and almost surreal experience. This time I think I appreciated it a bit more, partly because the last time was almost a decade ago, but also because of just having moved from the chaos that is New York City. Because the move to France took place so recently, everything seems to stand out in stark contrast to what former life in New York. The abundance of nature, the way of living (especially in the French countryside) and just overall daily experienced make you quickly forget the rush of big cities like New York.

The journey down the Gorge de Tan took roughly 6 hours and, primarily because of the frequent stops to feed the girls or let them swim. Overall, it was a great first full day in the south of France and resulted in a very peaceful first night of sleep, as well.

Montrozier, France

The look, feel and people that are Montrozier are so completely different than any other place I’ve known–especially New York City. The feeling that I get when I arrive here is peaceful, to say the least.

Scenes like the one playing out before me as I write–a father and son wading through the stream that lies before the bridge that acts as the gateway to Montrozier–are a regular occurrence. In a way, much of what I see here in Montrozier seems as though it belongs in a movie, rather than real life.

I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time in a place like Montrozier.