Porte de Saillé

The Saillé gate

The Guérande audio-guided tour presents you with the Saillé gate, listed as a Historic Monument, which marks the southern entrance to the medieval city and leads to the street of the same name.

A gate turned towards the village of Saillé

The gate owes its name to the village of Saillé, located a few kilometres south of Guérande, towards which it is turned. It dates from the sixteenth century. At the time of its construction, the tensions that agitated the region had subsided and the city no longer ran much risk of being attacked: the Saillé gate was therefore not designed as a defensive monument, unlike the Saint-Michel gate, even if it keeps a few arrow slits. Above the entrance, a niche houses a statuette of the Virgin.

What there is to see

Less monumental than the Saint-Michel gate, the Saillé gate is nonetheless a fine testimony of another, more peaceful era of Guérande. Restored several times, it keeps its few arrow slits and its niche to the Virgin, to be discovered along the walk beside the ramparts. It is one of the four fortified gates of the city.

Practical information

The Saillé gate marks the southern entrance of the medieval city of Guérande, towards the street of the same name. It can be contemplated and crossed freely on foot, at all hours and on the level, along the walk.

Where does the name of the Saillé gate come from?

From the village of Saillé, located a few kilometres south of Guérande, towards which the gate is turned.

Is the Saillé gate defensive?

Less than the Saint-Michel gate: built in the sixteenth century in a more peaceful period, it keeps however a few arrow slits.