The Porte Cailhau definitely stands out from its surrounding buildings with its Gothic-Renaissance style. This 35 metres-high gatehouse was built between 1493 and 1496 and was one of the main entries to the city. It was also used as a defensive tower since it was built into the old city walls (very useful for throwing rocks at invaders). The project of building the gate was initiated by the Jurats of Bordeaux, and King Charles VIII’s statue was added to the front to celebrate his conquest of the Kingdom of Naples (the battle of Fornovo in 1495). Within the gatehouse, there’s an exhibition dedicated to the history and architecture of Porte Cailhau, showing the tools and construction materials needed to build it.

Rather impressively, the building remains mostly unchanged from the 15th century and if you climb to the very top, you can see a wonderful sweeping view of the river Garonne and Pont de Pierre (Stone Bridge).

Porte Cailhau

Place du Palais, 33000 Bordeaux

Opening times

Every day, 10:00-13:00/14:00-18:00