The town's emblematic Bourbon gateway

The town's emblematic Bourbon gateway

The only vestige of the three gateways leading into the town in the Middle Ages.

La porte Bourbon - Bourbon gateway

Built in the wall, flanked by two towers, the 13th-century gateway is topped by a machicolation for protection.

There are no traces left of the other two entrances - the southern Porte de Guyenne and the northern Porte Saint Louis. An old image from the 19th century shows vestiges of fortifications near the Creuse river, where Rue de la Cale is today.