ChARTres Festival – Crossing of Arts 2026 in Chartres

It was in 2013 that the ChARTres Croisement des Arts festival was born. “Since 2006,” explains Hubert Fondecave, its founder and director, “I have exhibited French and foreign artists in my offices in Paris. While visiting an exhibition in the Saint-André collegiate church in Chartres, the idea came to me to create this festival in this city where I live, and thus allow artists to exhibit in this magnificent place. » Thanks to the dynamism of Hubert and Anne-Noëlle Fondecave, this event attracts nearly 4,000 visitors each year. For this 13th edition, which will take place March 7 to 22, 2026, 20 artists from 8 countries will exhibit their works.

At the same time, a rich program is offered at Villa Fulbert: concert by the Diabolus in musica ensemble, conference by Jean-Pierre Sueur on Charles Péguy, art practice courses. “And the theme of the festival being, this year, “Meeting”, continues Hubert Fondecave, we wanted to organize, in collaboration with the weekly The Pilgrima round table on the different paths that cross in Chartres. By the way, a wink: the guest of honor at our event will be Eden Jung-Wook Park, Korean artist who converted by arriving on foot at Mont-Saint-Michel! »

To give some insight into each of these paths, we asked one of their actors to tell us a few words about them.

1. Way of Saint James

“ We maintain, with the municipalities, more than 250 km of Jacquaire routes in the department of Eure-et-Loir: the Chemin de Paris which passes near Épernon; the Anglo-Norman road which comes from Westminster, Rouen and Évreux, and enters our department near Dreux. Both meet in Chartres. They then continue towards Tours (the Grand Chemin, 70 km to Loir-et-Cher) or towards Orléans (Chemin des Cathédrales, 80 km).

They have many assets: varied and pleasant landscapes (Eure and Loir valley, Beauce plain, borders of Perche), towns or villages having inherited a very ancient history (neolithic, Celtic, Roman, medieval). » (Michel Suchaud, Compostela 28)

2. Way of Saint Martin

“The path of Saint Martin (or Via Sancti Martini) which passes through Chartres comes from Paris (Porte Saint-Martin), crosses the Chevreuse valley and heads towards Tours (370 km). Saint Martin having passed through Chartres on his way to Trier three times to meet the emperor, he is honored in this city where one can notably admire a large stained glass window recounting his life and, in the former Saint-Brice hospital, the recently restored Saint-Martin-au-Val church. On this route, in this department, there are many villages, churches and places dedicated to Saint Martin: Bleury, Fresnay-le-Comte, Pré-Saint-Martin, Bonneval, Châteaudun. » (Christophe Delaunay, Via Sancti Martini)

3. Chemin du Mont-Saint-Michel

“The Grand Chemin from Chartres to Mont-Saint-Michel (455 km), inaugurated in 2023, leaves from Orléans. This path, which connects Beauce to the Norman sanctuary of the Archangel, crosses the hills of Perche, follows the sunken paths of the Ornaise forests and joins the hills of Mortainais, from where we discover the silhouette of the Mons sanctuary before crossing the bay. This path is part of a European cultural route which leaves from Monte Gargano in Puglia, to reach Mont-Saint-Michel, via Rome, the Sacra di San Michele, Lyon, Nevers, and Orléans. » (Vincent Juhel, Les Chemins du Mont-Saint-Michel)

1. Chemin Charles Péguy

“The Chemin Charles Péguy, created by the Amitié Charles Péguy, was opened in June 2013, i.e. 100 years after Péguy’s second pilgrimage to Chartres from his house in Palaiseau (Essonne). Connecting as closely as possible the localities crossed by Péguy, it is a little longer (93 km instead of 70) because it avoids the straight departmental roads which, at the time, were not congested. The appeal of this path is multiple: landscaped (Hurepoix); accessibility (sections possible thanks to bus or train connections); peregrine and literary (Péguy’s journey retraced in his famous poem Presentation of Beauce at Notre Dame de Chartres). » (François Haye, Amitié Charles Péguy)

2. Chemin des Carriers and Berchéroise

“The quarrymen’s path has its origins in the history of the village of Berchères, which once housed quarries that were probably used in the construction of Chartres Cathedral. It is so called in homage to the stevedores who, for centuries, transported the stone from Berchères to Chartres.

The Garenne quarry is the starting point for several routes. All year round, a yellow marked loop (8 km) allows you to rediscover the Garenne site as well as the village’s heritage. In addition, the Berchéroise (12 km), a hike taking place every year, connects Berchères and the Beauceron cathedral. » (Quentin Favré, Berch-Pierre Association)

3. Franz Stock Path

“Seven kilometers connect the Barbed Wire Seminary which was directed by Father Franz Stock (1904-1948) during the Second World War, and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rechèvres church, where he is buried. A moving pilgrimage to be carried out on foot, in the footsteps of the priest who was the precursor of Franco-German reconciliation and who accompanied more than 1,500 condemned to death to the execution posts.

It is also a bucolic path, which runs along the Eure for 4 km, and which then passes through Old Chartres, where colorful boats harmonize with the stone bridges and old wash houses. » (Isabelle Knosp, Friends of Franz Stock)

1. La Véloscénie

“La Véloscénie is a 450 km cycle route (including 114 in Eure-et-Loir), which connects Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel, via Chartres. Created in 2013, it is promoted by a network of around thirty local authorities and their tourist institutions. It covers 4 regions, 8 departments, 21 inter-communities, 3 regional natural parks (the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse, the Perche, the Normandy-Maine Geo-Park), and highlights 6 sites classified as UNESCO world heritage sites.

This marked route takes low-traffic roads, greenways and cycle paths that are mostly secure in Normandy, outside Paris and in the Chartres conurbation. It can also be used by walkers. » (William Morisé, Portes euréliiennes d’Ile-de-France tourist office)

The Véloscénie website.

2. The path to La Chapelle-Montligeon

“This path, which I traced in 2025, connects Notre-Dame de Montligeon, a Marian sanctuary dedicated to the souls in purgatory, and Notre-Dame de Chartres: 100 kilometers of walking through the forests, between Perche and Beauce. I accompany small groups of pilgrims (two departures per month, from March to October) who wish to undertake a spiritual hike.

In five days, we cross four forests, which symbolize four interior passages, leading from shadow to light. The logistics (accommodation, meals and return journey) are carefully prepared. Thus, each pilgrim can devote himself fully to his walk and his rest. It is a unique experience, physical, fraternal and spiritual. » (Sofie Bornet, guide for this hike)

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Eight paths, therefore, and as many reasons to attend the round table which will take place in Chartres on March 13, 2026! “But first, in the afternoon, we offer you a guided spiritual tour of the cathedral crypt (see box below), which has just celebrated its millennium”, adds Jean-Christophe Mathieu, relay of the Via Sancti Martini and Chemins du Mont-Saint-Michel for Eure-et-Loir. When the time comes, on sunny days, you can then take the path that suits you best!