- Length
- Seven days
- Walking
- Gentle
- Season
- Spring 2027
- Status
- First departures in spring 2027
The grace we ask on this way
To learn to read the story of salvation in stone and stained glass.
- Paris
- Saint-Denis
- Chartres
- Rouen
- Amiens
- Reims
- Paris
When Notre-Dame burned in 2019, people around the world mourned it as a loss of their own. Cathedrals still move people who no longer believe, and their beauty can lead them to God. Mass is celebrated each day, with the readings of the day.
The portals and windows of the cathedrals show the story of salvation to anyone who can read them, and even the gargoyles and carved demons have a place in it. Your priest and the historian explain how to read these churches, built in the image of Christ.
In Paris, you will enter Notre-Dame, restored to worship in 2024, where a Mass is requested for the group. The Sainte-Chapelle, which Saint Louis built for the Crown of Thorns, now kept at Notre-Dame, is your first visit of the morning, at opening time. At Saint-Denis, the ambulatory of Abbot Suger, where Gothic began, rises above the tombs of the kings. At Chartres, you will see the labyrinth set in the floor of the nave, walked in prayer on the days it is cleared of its chairs, then pray before the Virgin’s veil.
Joan of Arc was tried and burned in Rouen. At Amiens, the largest cathedral in France keeps the head of Saint John the Baptist and choir stalls carved with thousands of figures from the Scriptures. At Reims, where Saint Remi baptized Clovis, you will pray in the cathedral of the coronations before an organ recital for the group alone.
Daily prayer
The week runs from Notre-Dame in Paris to the cathedral in Reims where the kings were anointed.
This landGothic was born in France, in the ambulatory Abbot Suger raised at Saint-Denis, consecrated in 1144, and from here it spread across Europe.
Each day
Morning prayer on the road from the pilgrim’s book, Mass each day in a cathedral, and Compline at night; in each cathedral, after the historian’s talk, an hour with no commentary.
The rites of this way
- The blessing of pilgrims in Notre-Dame
- The labyrinth of Chartres walked in prayer, on the days its chairs are cleared
- Prayer before the relic of Saint John the Baptist in Amiens
- The renewal of baptismal promises in Reims
- The sending of pilgrims at the last Mass
Before you leave
Read the prologue of the Gospel of Saint John and, if you can, Émile Mâle’s The Gothic Image, the book that taught generations to read portals and windows.
The fruit of the way
The skill to read any church at home.
Who it is forA first pilgrimage in France, and anyone whose prayer is helped by sacred art.
Day by day
Seven days from Paris to Reims.
- INotre-Dame de Paris
- IISaint-Denis, the tombs of the kings
- IIIChartres, the labyrinth
- IVRouen
- VAmiens
- VIReims, the coronations
- VIIReims, the Smiling Angel
- Day INight in Paris
LuxThe light shines in the darkness
Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame
Notre-Dame, with a Mass requested for the group
The blessing of pilgrims, on the first evening
- Day IINight in Paris
CoronaThe crown of thorns and the crowns of the kings
Paris, the Sainte-Chapelle, Saint-Denis, the Musée de Cluny
The Sainte-Chapelle at opening time
Prayer for those who govern, before the tombs of Saint-Denis
- Day IIINight in Rouen
MaterUnder the veil of Our Lady
Chartres, then Rouen
The labyrinth of the nave, and the Veil of the Virgin
Prayer before the Veil of the Virgin, then the rosary on the road to Rouen
- Day IVNight in Amiens
FidelitasFaithful to the end
Rouen, then Amiens
The archbishop’s palace of Rouen and the Historial Jeanne d’Arc
Mass in memory of Saint Joan of Arc, on the square where she died
- Day VNight in Reims
PraecursorHe must increase
Amiens, then Reims
The choir stalls of Amiens, seen from inside the enclosure
Prayer before the relic of Saint John the Baptist
The Weeping Angel, carved by Nicolas Blasset - Day VINight in Reims
UnctioThe anointing of baptism
Reims
The cathedral of the coronations with the historian, the treasury of the Palais du Tau if it has reopened after its restoration, a tasting in a Champagne house, an organ recital for the group and a gastronomic dinner
The renewal of baptismal promises, where Saint Remi baptized Clovis
- Day VIILast day
MissioSent forth
Reims, then Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Farewell lunch, then the transfer to the airport by minibus
The sending of pilgrims at the farewell Mass
Private openings and Masses are requested from rectors and curators and remain subject to their consent.
Booking
- Seven days in France, in a small group
- A deposit of 30% on reservation
- The balance ninety days before departure
- International flights not included
- The price is sent on request, with the booking conditions
Included
- Six nights in hotels close to the cathedrals
- Breakfast each morning and lunch every day, ending with a farewell lunch
- Six dinners, one of them a gastronomic dinner in Reims
- A tasting of three cuvées in a Champagne house
- A private minibus and driver
- All admissions, and the private openings granted
- Every visit and meeting in English, with live translation when a host speaks French
- The transfer to Paris-Charles de Gaulle
- The bound pilgrim’s book
- Travel and medical insurance
Practical details
- Start
- Paris, on the first day. The meeting time and the hotel are sent with the program. Arrive the day before if you can; we can book the extra night.
- End
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle on the seventh day, after a farewell lunch in Reims. Book a flight home leaving in the evening.
- On foot
- Short walks each day through towns and cathedrals, with stairs and stone floors. No long hikes.
- Rooms
- Six nights in hotels close to the cathedrals, in double or twin rooms. A single room can be reserved for a supplement.
- Season
- In spring, days run from about 50 to 70 °F, with showers. The cathedrals stay cool: bring a warm layer.
- Language
- Everything is in English, or translated live.
First departures in spring 2027. Reservations open once our registration with Atout France is granted, with a deposit of 30%.
The holy places of this way: Paris, Saint-Denis, Chartres, Rouen, Amiens, Reims.
Further reading: Rouen: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the City of Saint Joan of Arc; Reims: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Cathedral of the Coronations; Chartres: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Cathedral of Our Lady; Black Madonnas of France: A Pilgrim’s Guide.
The saints of this way: Saint Denis, Saint Remi, Saint Clotilde, Saint Louis.
This way can also be made at a gentle pace, with two or three days in Paris before or after.