Tours Guillaume

One of the oldest remains in the town, called the "Upper Gate" or "Joan of Arc Gate", in memory of her stay here in December 1430. These 11th century towers were already in place when William the Conqueror's fleet was forced to stop here in 1066. Originally there were two massive round towers with consoles and machicolation, two 2-storey buildings with underground passages for guard house and prisons, a drawbridge removed in 1614 and advance fortifications that have since disappeared. The ogival archway was built in 1785 and a section of curtain wall still stands. In summer the walls are home to a pink carnation known as the "œillet des croisades" (crusade carnation)."