Road trip to discover the cathedrals
- Philippe Rideau
- Sep 11
- 3 min read
At the beginning of August, we received our new camper van two weeks ago, more than a month behind schedule. We therefore have to postpone our road trip to Norway.
In order to try out the CC we decided to go and explore the cathedrals of the Paris basin.
Our first stop is the city of Chartres, where we'll spend the night at the Chartres campsite. This pleasant campsite is conveniently located less than 10 minutes from the city center by bike, offering a pleasant ride along the banks of the Eure River.
On this sunny afternoon, we book a guided tour of the cathedral. Our guide shares his passionate knowledge of the monument with us, and we follow his insightful explanations with great interest.
We begin with a detailed description of the façade. Each tympanum and statue are described with the associated biblical reading.
After these initial explanations, we enter the cathedral and our guide begins his explanations on the marvelous stained-glass windows, true masterpieces of medieval art. We once again appreciate these explanations of "text" with the associated biblical reading.
After the guided tour, we cannot resist the pleasure of seeing this jewel of Gothic art again and we admire the whole monument again, ending by going around the cathedral to the magnificent north porch.
As night falls, the monuments of Chartres are illuminated. We return to the cathedral to admire it from a new angle.
The north porch as it was painted in the Middle Ages
On this second day, we take the road again towards Beauvais, crossing the Vexin.
We park our motorhome in the Saint Quentin car park, about 2km from the centre of Beauvais.
We start by touring the Saint Etienne church in Beauvais which unfortunately is under construction, we cannot visit the interior
Next, we head to St. Peter's Cathedral. Among the last to be built, its builders wanted it to be the tallest. Thus, the height inside the choir exceeds 48m, placing it at the top of all Gothic buildings in Christendom. Unfortunately, collapses, wars, epidemics, and financial difficulties over the centuries led to the halting of construction of the nave. The transept was completed in 1548 with a width of 58m.
A 19th-century astronomical clock stands alongside a medieval clock. Note that access to the choir was closed following the fall of stones from the vault.
For our second night, we stopped at the Trye campsite in Bresles, a few kilometers from Beauvais.
For this third day, we head towards Noyon and its cathedral which is one of the first to have been built in the Gothic style.
Our route to Amiens stops in Péronne, where we visit the "Historical Museum of the first world War." The guided tour is recommended for the wealth of information provided, which is not necessarily included in school textbooks.
We arrive late in the afternoon to set up camp for two nights at the Cygnes campsite. Located 5 km from the cathedral, along the Somme River on a cycle path that we take the next morning to begin our visit.
Amiens Cathedral impresses us first of all by its dimensions; its interior volumes make it the largest in France. Its interior volume can contain twice the volume of Notre Dame de Paris.
We have lunch near the cathedral, which we return to visit, while waiting for a boat trip to discover the floating gardens. A lovely, peaceful stroll through the heart of the city.
After a break at the campsite while waiting for nightfall, we return to the center of Amiens to watch the illumination of the cathedral.
On this fifth day, we set sail for Vendée and our home port. We decided to stop to visit the Champs de Bataille estate located in Eure.
This estate was purchased in 1992 by the decorator Jacques Garcia, who designed and redesigned the entire park. He also built the Indian Mughal palace, the Cybele Cave, Roman and Greek temples, dug a large canal, and redesigned the interior of the castle.
This first road trip in a motorhome is coming to an end. We obviously loved all the places we visited and we were able to confirm that the type of motorhome we chose was perfect for us. Our next road trip is already planned; we will spend 3 weeks exploring Andalusia.
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