Soissons Gate

The Porte de Soissons, in Laon

The Porte de Soissons is one of the old fortified gates of Laon, which closed one of the main western accesses of the medieval town. The Laon audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this vestige of the ramparts, a witness of the defensive past of the perched city.

The gate of the western access of the ramparts

You have just crossed the Porte de Soissons, which closed one of the main accesses to the west of the medieval town of Laon. Like the Porte d'Ardon, it was part of the defensive system that protected the city, perched on its mound and surrounded by powerful ramparts. These fortified gates, pierced in the wall, were the only points of passage allowing to enter the town or to leave it: they were watched, closed at night and in case of danger, and constituted strategic elements of the defence. The Porte de Soissons owes its name to the direction that it commanded, that of the neighbouring town of Soissons. An imposing vestige of the medieval wall, it testifies to the time when Laon was a stronghold, one of the best protected towns of the region thanks to its natural position and its fortifications. To cross it is to take the path that the travellers and the merchants used for centuries. A vestige of the fortifications and a witness of the defensive past, the Porte de Soissons is a fine stop of the discovery of Laon.

What to see

Here you cross the old fortified gate that closed one of the main western accesses of the medieval town of Laon, element of the defensive system that protected the perched city surrounded by ramparts, watched and closed at night, which owes its name to the direction of the neighbouring town of Soissons, an imposing vestige of the wall. The Porte de Soissons is a witness of the defensive past of Laon. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Porte de Soissons lies to the west of the upper town of Laon, reachable on foot. It is an open-air vestige, freely accessible. You discover it during a walk along the ramparts and in the historic city.

What is the Porte de Soissons in Laon?

One of the old fortified gates that closed one of the main western accesses of the medieval town of Laon; element of the defensive system that protected the perched city surrounded by ramparts, it owes its name to the direction of the neighbouring town of Soissons and testifies to the stronghold past of Laon.

Where is the Porte de Soissons in Laon?

To the west of the upper town of Laon, in France.