Share

Chartres is the capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in France, about an hour’s drive south-west of Paris. The city is famous for its expertly preserved Gothic Cathedral and its beautiful stained-glass windows, some of which date back to around 1215.

Chartres Cathedral Son et Lumière

Chartres Cathedral is famous for its stained-glass windows

Chartres Cathedral, with 176 stained-glass windows, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Chartres is home to the International Stained-Glass Centre, and is also known as the perfume capital, with famous brands such as Nina Ricci and Lancôme being produced in Chartres.

Perhaps more importantly, Chartres is also known as the capital of light. From April to January, Chartres holds its annual Son et Lumière, illuminating the key heritage buildings.

Chartres is a favourite day trip or weekend destination for Parisians. Each year, the city attracts about one million visitors from all over the world, and with the new sports and cultural arena La Colisée adjacent to the station, even more sports and music fans are coming to Chartres. It is therefore no surprise to Chartres Métropole that demand for city centre parking continues to increase.

Sustainable Mobility Partner

Chartres Métropole turned to Q-Park to help with its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), an EU requirement. And with good reason, Q-Park has considerable experience with urban mobility planning. We are present in 88 West-European cities with three or more parking facilities and in 52 cities with five or more.

We experience that we are a key Sustainable Mobility Partner for cities where we operate three or more parking facilities. In this role, we are invited to participate in their urban mobility plans as we can make a considerable contribution to mobility transition planning with our off-street parking portfolio.

Total city parking capacity

La Colisée sports and cultural centre

As Sustainable Mobility Partner, we don’t just look at the parking capacity required at a single location, we take the wider urban area into consideration. Using our experience, business intelligence and calculation tools, we helped Chartres Métropole calculate the parking capacity required for the metropolitan area.

Originally, Chartres Métropole wanted to build a parking facility at the station, to serve the new sports and cultural centre La Colisée, with about 1,500 spaces. However, our capacity calculation showed that about one-third of those spaces would not be needed because other parking facilities within walking distance could also serve this venue. We recommended a parking facility with about 1,100 spaces. This meant we were able to eliminate the need for an entire parking deck, reducing construction time and costs.

With the support of our recommendations, Chartres Métropole has met the increased demand for parking as follows:

• République: transformed from a private car park, originally built in 1979, to a public parking facility with 586 parking spaces;

• Gare Colisée: new construction serving the station and new sports and cultural centre downsized from 1,500 to 1,085 parking spaces.

Business intelligence powers capacity calculation tools

Q-Park uses its business intelligence and parking capacity calculation tools to work out how many parking spaces are needed at a specific location. Time and time again, Q-Park’s parking capacity calculations have been significantly lower than those of the municipalities themselves. When you consider construction costs per space, not having to build 100 or even 500 spaces can save a lot of public money.

Six parking facilities in Chartres

Q-Park parking facility locations in Chartres

Q-Park operates a total of six parking facilities in Chartres with a total of 3,686 spaces, including 59 EV charging points and 68 spaces for people of reduced mobility. Five of the six parking facilities can also accommodate motorcycles.

The parking facilities are all located at the edge or just outside the pedestrian zone and are within easy walking distance of the city's main attractions. All parking facilities have access to public transport and République, Cathédrale and Gare Colisée are just a short walk of Chartres train station.

All have CCTV and are connected to the Q-Park Control Room, which means that customers requiring assistance can press a call button to receive immediate attention from a dedicated customer service team 24/7.

Q-Park Cathédrale

Access to the circular underground parking facility is from Place Châtelet. Of all the Q-Park car parks in Chartres, this one is the closest to the cathedral, the Fine Arts Museum and the Stained-Glass Museum.

Key metrics:

• 331 spaces

• Toilets available

Q-Park Cœur de Ville

Situated beneath the inner ring road, this parking facility has two vehicle entrances and several pedestrian access points along Boulevard Adelphe Chasles. These provide easy access to the cinema, the theatre and Place des Épars.

Key metrics:

• 1,118 spaces

• 23 spaces for PRMs

• Family spaces

Q-Park Gare Colisée

Photo: François Delauney

Opened in April 2023, this is the newest parking facility in Chartres. It meets the city's parking needs at the train station and the new sports and cultural complex La Colisée.

As Chartres is also known as the City of Glass, it was fitting to create a colourful glass façade facing the station. This consists of a metal framework supporting coloured glass panels, inspired by the stained-glass windows in the cathedral, which can be admired from the top of La Colisée.

This facility is a typical mobility hub because it offers:

• access to trains and buses

• EV charging points

• car rental services.

Key metrics:

• 1,085 spaces

• 55 EV charging points

• 20 spaces for PRMs

• Access to trains and buses, car hire available

• 2 semi-underground levels, new bus and coach station on the roof

• 2 vehicle entrances/exits 

• 4 pedestrian entrances/exits + 8 emergency exits

• 5 lifts

• Wide aisles with one-way traffic

• Column-free for easy parking in angled bays

• Well-lit spaces and pedestrian areas, with an environmentally responsible approach, using 870 energy-saving LED lights, controlled by presence detection systems, thus minimising electricity consumption

• Open façade reduces the need for mechanical ventilation

• Traffic heading to Gare Colisée does not have go through the city centre

• New pedestrian bridge provides easy access to Chartres train station and the city centre 

Q-Park Grand Faubourg

This small parking facility is located in a side street just off the Place des Épars, in the former artisan district.

Key metrics:

• 163 spaces

• 4 spaces for PRMs

• Motorcycle parking

Q-Park Hôtel de Ville

This car park, also designated as a nuclear shelter, is situated beneath the Place des Halles where the City Hall is located. Cafes and restaurants surround the square which is adjacent to the shopping district with quaint cobbled streets. 

Key metrics:

• 403 spaces

• Motorcycle parking

• Family spaces

Q-Park République

Q-Park République is located in the heart of Chartres, a short walk from the train station. The facility was originally built in 1979 to provide parking for nearby offices. As part of Chartres urban mobility plan, Q-Park recommended renovating this facility and opening it to the public.

The transformation was part of an intelligent vision for Chartres Métropole’s sustainable urban mobility plan. The extensive renovation project was completed in 2020 with a minimum of disruption and environmental impact, avoiding heavy construction work and minimising noise nuisance in the neighbourhood.

Key metrics:

• 577 parking spaces

• 12 spaces for PRMs

• 20 spaces for secure bicycle parking

• 10 spaces for motorcycles

• 4 EV charging points

• 4 underground levels

• LED lighting with smart controls.