marcydolan

Malcolm Miller is not 90! I interviewed him over the course of a month in 1983 when he was going on fifty. He is a treasure -- hope you don't miss him. He is truly called to that other treasure: the cathedral itself.

Marcy Heidish

Palenque

Malcolm looks 90 and at times acts like a 9-yr-old

Palenque

I have rarely seen any man so so full of himself as Malcolm Miller - his trampling over people who pay to take his tours, often completely unjustified in times i've taken his tour or seen him doing his Schitck in the cathedral - anyway is so so obnoxious.

Yup his tours are great info and often fun but still i would suggest taking the official tour that the cathedral itself offers instead of with this lout.

amicushiberniae

I took a tour of Chartres last summer with Mr Miller and intend going back again this year. I had, however, wanted to check out what other folks thought, and see if my own experience was unique. I found the tour fascinating. It really brought the cathedral to life, and made it accessible to everyone irregardless of their knowledge of religious history. However, I found the man himself to be rude and extremely irritable. When I went to pay for my headset I was asked for my passport. As I was a long term resident in Paris I wasnt inclined to carry my passport with me anywhere. Who would?! When I told him this I was rebuked, as it was French law to carry it, seemingly. He was rude too I thought to a number of young children, who were meerly talking quietly and not interfering with the tour. He also made what I thought were distastful comments towards Protestant reformers. I really thought he was a rude person, which was a great pity as the tour itself was great. I would not pay for the privalage to be insulted again, no thank you.

adrienne

Yet another first-time poster who is complaining! I just love the rare times when a newbie has something positive to say.

Duh...Malcolm Miller is famous for his curmudgeonly behavior as well as for his knowledge of Chartres cathedral.

I've had to leave ID for audios/headsets in other places. That's to ensure people don't walk off with them.

Gretchen

Palenque, we get it. You don't like him, and you don't care much for church or church relics. Take it outside.
Amicus, you apparently changed your mind about going back between the beginning and end of your post. LOL
We found the tour to be extremely good. We didn't have headsets. He even told us that the only place one type of glass/color occurs elsewhere than one of the windows is in a church in our hometown neighborhood.
He DID fuss at some young people who were talking loud. I personally think that people should ALL remember they are in a church, not a museum or auditorium.

Aduchamp1

We took his tour 30 years ago and he was rude and dying then. He is the Meyer Lansky of traveldom.

amicushiberniae

I think you misuderstood me Gretchen. I said I intended returning to Chartres cathedral, not to the Miller tour. Thus no need for the 'lol'. Thank you.

amicushiberniae

Excuse me Adrienne, but the fact that I'm a first time poster is completely irrelevant, and has nothing to do with my experience on the tour. And as it happened, I did leave ID, just not my passport. The idea of giving your passport to a stranger for a headset is ludicrous. And please, do not put 'duh' in your comment relating to me. Unlike some of the negative comments re. Mr Miller I did not resort to personal attacks. I simply said I thought he was rude during points of his tour, and did acknowledge the tour itself to be very interesting.

Unless I was mistaken, this is supposed to be a forum where people can share their experiences, either positive or nagative in a civil fashion.

amicushiberniae

Oh, I'm sorry Gretchen, but the irony of your comment appears to have been lost on you. If Chartres, or indeed any other cathedral, is not a museum, then what were you doing taking a tour?