Saint-Michel Gate

The Saint-Michel gate

The Guérande audio-guided tour begins before the Saint-Michel gate, the imposing entrance to the medieval city. Nicknamed the Carcassonne of the West, Guérande is still encircled by its powerful ramparts, among the best preserved in France.

A gate at the heart of the ramparts

The enclosure measures one thousand three hundred metres and has six towers and four fortified gates; listed as a Historic Monument in 1877, it has been very little restored. It was the Duke of Brittany who, in the fourteenth century, launched the financing of the ramparts, shaped between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Saint-Michel gate dates from this period. The main entrance of the city, it also served as residence to the governor, became a prison at the Revolution, then housed the town hall between 1815 and 1954.

What there is to see

Both defensive, with its machicolations, its gun loops and its arrow slits, and elegant, the gate culminates at twenty-four metres and displays the coat of arms of the city above the entrance. It today houses the museum of Guérande, with its medieval rooms, its models and its exhibitions, and allows you to walk the ramparts. Guided tours and a children's route are offered regularly.

Practical information

The Saint-Michel gate marks the entrance to the medieval city of Guérande. It houses the museum of Guérande, which can generally be visited according to hours varying with the season; it is advisable to check the days and opening hours. The gate can be contemplated freely from the outside; the visit of the museum and the ramparts involves stairs.

Why is Guérande nicknamed the Carcassonne of the West?

For its exceptionally preserved medieval ramparts, one thousand three hundred metres long, with six towers and four fortified gates.

What can you visit at the Saint-Michel gate?

The museum of Guérande, with its medieval rooms, models and exhibitions, as well as a route on the ramparts.