Home to one of the best preserved Gothic cathedrals on the planet sans crowds, it houses unparalleled stained glass, the ancient stone labyrinth underfoot, and mysteries not easily given up. Tens of thousands flock to Chartres annually to visit Our Mother on pilgrimage from far-away lands.

What if you're just wondering ... exploring ... looking for the bounty of a medieval village in full color. That's what you'll find here. Surprisingly enough, it is somehow still a pretty well-kept secret.

For the last 28 years, Chartres has been a personal constant destination of mine. In this time I've watched it morph from a small, quiet walkabout town, to a finely-polished state-of-being-pleasured destination. It is exceptional.

Twenty-eight years ago was before they began the massive renovation project of the Cathedral itself … before the central underground parking and plaza was built that pours itself off of the cobblestone streets of centre ville over to the periphery where sits the Hotel Grand Monarque, an iconic presence.

For the last 10 years, there's a new influence with the influx of Parisians who've moved out of the city, a mere hour away by train.

It's Petite-Paris in some ways — an entirely walkabout small town, full of boutique shops and cafes, all vying for top-dog placement on a tourist's shortlist of where to go - mainly for dining. Pour quoi pas? The French love their food. And so do I.

We had five days of R&R in Chartres, and that's just what we did. We walked about, window- shopped, sussed out restaurants that looked good, read our books, slept, then got up and did it again. It was more like a restful retreat, except for the food factor.

As well as scoping out fine dining for the evenings, we were scoping out fine patisserie for the mornings.

Each day began with a grand creme and a pain au raisin. The choices pained me, but I always went back to my steady-eddy.

For my friend, it was a grand creme and a millefeuille — essentially dessert for breakfast.

Layer upon layer of finest flakey pastry, topped with custard, then repeat. She's learned to turn it on its side and dissect it down the middle length-wise, for best results.

We found it all. Hands-down best patisserie?

Feuillette @1 rue du Bois Merrain took the prize.

You'll walk in the door to sweets first, but keep walking. You'll quickly discover it's full-spectrum, from croissants and baguettes to sandwiches and savory quiches — to the finest desserts. The steady flow of local customers through the door gives it all away.

Back to main meals … Our first meal came en route to the hotel just off the train. Tired, hungry, and wanting something to wash it all away, we stumbled into a bustling courtyard restaurant we had been to pre-Covid when it served tea and desserts.

Now under new ownership, Cine Resto @26 Place Jean Moulin, was at capacity. With a starter of carpaccio avec pesto & parmesan and a chilled rose, the trip fell by the wayside. Main was a linguini with scampi in a cream curry sauce. I'll go back.

NOTE: Cine Resto went through another transformation in 2022, and is now known as MOLIERE. Same beautiful place, ambiance and food.

From there we scouted around on the back streets where O Tire Bouchon caught both our eyes — I had been tipped off a few years ago about this restaurant — I was in a tourist shop right off the Cathedral, and went in to ask the aging, veteran owner where to go for a great meal; where did the locals go.

O Tire Bouchon was her answer. This visit, we reserved a table. 12 rue au Lait, perched on the corner.

What was incongruous was the setting. Traditional, comfortable, borderline laid-back, this brasserie-style restaurant served anything but casual food. We arrived intentionally at 19.00, as the French habit is to dine later. We wanted to watch it fill. By 20.30 the 24 chairs in the tiny space were jam-packed with that comforting murmur of group conversation.

The chef is artisanal— and playfully creative. Young and passionate about his work, it shows in every serving laid out on the table.

I ordered a feuillette de boeuf for the first time in my life. I didn't quite know what that meant but leaves were involved, and steak.

Come to find, he had fine-slivered the medallion into thin, nearly transparent leaves; it reminded me when splayed, of a deck of cards with a central pin so you could open the deck to see what was there, not lose any of it, and gain it all.

Soignon for me (rare) — which is a shade less blue than bleu (raw but for it's fading warmth) — accompanied by cauliflower steamed to perfection and drizzled with honey, and beloved frites, of course, that were — perfect. The starter? Mousse Betterave topped with finely whipped chevre.

Dessert? I'm trying to remember … was there dessert? We were so full it was impossible to think of more. But did we?

The next day, having booked our dinner experience with Bistrot Le Sully, we decided to preface it at noon with a light lunch at the creperie, La Picoterie @36 rue des Changes, just off the Cathedral's south side. What was I thinking? A massive chevre chaud salade was enough for the day. My appetite wasn't up to snuff for dinner but that did not stop the train.

Bistrot Le Sully is a tiny restaurant in the walkabout centre ville of Chartres. Years ago, the then-new chef sat guests inside in the tiny room — only three or four tables on the main floor — and just as many upstairs. But Covid moved his tables out, now in an intimate terrace setting.

Lamb shank was the order of the day. Fall-off-the-bone perfect, it's a house specialty. Savoring every bite, we rolled back sideways to our rooms.

It's a given in France, to expect great food. But to have five nights in our own Petite-Paris sampling the best of the best?

This was our third main dining experience. I was keen to make our fourth, yet another experience to remember at Esprit Gourmand, located on a quiet side street, north-side of the Cathedral. 6 Rue du Cheval Blanc.

Seated at a front window table with the logo overhead, we settled in for our fine-dining experience.

I couldn't think of a better place to discover a best-ever le homard served on a bed of mousse de petit pois. Lush.

Each dish was followed by small tasters to bridge the gaps. Gaps? There were none.

Esprit Gourmand doesn't have their own website but you can find them on Trip Advisor.

By day five, we were completely satiated yet we had one more meal to go. One of my all-time favorite establishments from its bar to its Restaurant Le Georges, is the Hotel Grand Monarque.

The hotel itself specializes in welcoming you into a luxe French experience of life and living from well-appointed rooms to a full spa to three tiers of restaurants to choose from.

We chose La Cour - Brasserie, and were seated in the middle courtyard with a draw-back ceiling that this twilight, was blue-sky warm; a wonderful accompaniment to great service, ambiance and fine dining.

I was so full from the week of eating, I could not finish even half my meal. But I did take it with me (formerly unheard of), for the train ride home the next day.

The Chartres Office of Tourism can help you with schedules of current events, auctions, and regional tie-ins to the Cathedral itself.

We happened to be there during the Grandes Orgues de Chartres, or the famed international organ competition, and took in the extraordinary 26-year old German organist's (Soren Gieseler) one-hour concert. It was transcendent.