Jacobins’ Gate

The Porte des Jacobins

On Place du General de Gaulle, the Carcassonne audio-guided tour stops you before the Porte des Jacobins, which marks the entrance to the lower town. This monumental structure is the last remnant of the wall that once protected the Bastide Saint-Louis.

The last of the four gates

In the medieval period, the lower town was surrounded by a fortified wall pierced with four gates, built in the 14th century: the gates of Toulouse, of the Cordeliers, of the Carmelites and of Saint-Louis. It was the latter that stood here. Considered old-fashioned with its medieval style, it was replaced in 1779 by a more elegant monumental gate. The four gates were then demolished, and only the Jacobins gate was rebuilt.

What there is to see

The Porte des Jacobins, a tall vaulted gate, gives access to the bastide from Place du General de Gaulle, towards Rue Courtejaire and the pedestrian centre. The only witness of the former wall, it lets one imagine the once enclosed town, and forms an elegant transition between the boulevards and the shopping heart of the lower town.

Practical information

The Porte des Jacobins can be seen freely, outdoors, on Place du General de Gaulle, at the entrance to the Bastide Saint-Louis. It is a quick stop, with no fee or schedule, on the way to the pedestrian shopping streets of the lower town.

Why is it the only surviving gate ?

During the modernisation of 1779, the four medieval gates were demolished and only the Jacobins gate was rebuilt, becoming the sole remnant of the wall.

Where is the Porte des Jacobins ?

It is on Place du General de Gaulle, at the entrance to the Bastide Saint-Louis, towards Rue Courtejaire.