--- title: "Porte Guillaume: How to Visit and What to See" description: "The Porte Guillaume stands on Place Darcy, at the western end of rue de la Liberté, where travellers once entered the walled town." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/porte-guillaume-dijon lang: en updated: 2026-10-08 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/porte-guillaume-dijon.png --- # Porte Guillaume > Porte Guillaume: an 18th-century triumphal arch on Place Darcy, built on the site of a medieval city gate. Porte Guillaume is in Dijon (Côte-d'Or), 44 min by road (48 km) from Beaune. Allow 10 to 15 minutes · Private driver from Beaune: €120 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Porte Guillaume stands on Place Darcy, at the western end of rue de la Liberté, where travellers once entered the walled town. This triumphal arch was built in the 1780s on the site of a medieval gate. For anyone walking in from Dijon-Ville station, it is still the doorway to the old town. ## Key facts - Type: Heritage - Where: Dijon · Côte-d'Or - Location: 35 km north-east of Beaune · Côte-d'Or - Coordinates: 47.3233, 5.0347 - 44 min from Beaune - Allow 10 to 15 minutes - Dijon - Official website: [destinationdijon.com](https://www.destinationdijon.com/patrimoine-culturel/porte-guillaume/) - From Beaune: ≈ 44 min · 48 km - €120 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 44 min by road (48 km), €120 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History The arch replaced a gate in the 12th-century town wall. It was built from 1786 to 1788 in honour of the Prince of Condé, governor of Burgundy, and was first called Porte Condé. Walls joined it to the ramparts that still stood, and an iron gate closed the opening: the marks of its fixings can still be seen. At the Revolution, in 1791, it became the Arch of Liberty. In the 19th century it took the name of William of Volpiano, the 11th-century abbot of Saint-Bénigne. For the visit of the Count of Artois, brother of Louis XVIII, in September 1814, the town crowned the arch with a plaster group of a winged genius on a horse-drawn chariot. Wind and rain wore it away within a few years. The arch has been classified as a historic monument since 1938. In 2009 a plaque to Thomas Jefferson and Franco-American friendship was fixed to it. ## What you will see Walk around the arch to see both faces. Four bas-reliefs by the sculptor Claude-François Attiret honour the Condé family. On the Place Darcy side, one genius presents the prince's arms to Burgundy and another shows a document to Minerva, goddess of wisdom. On the town side, the muse of History records the prince's victories, and a figure of Dijon shows his arms, chiselled off at the Revolution. Then turn round: the Jardin Darcy and its polar bear are across the square. ## Planning your visit The arch stands in the open and can be seen at any time, free. A stop of 10 to 15 minutes is enough. The Darcy tram stop is beside it, and Dijon-Ville station is a few minutes' walk away. It makes a good starting point for a walk along rue de la Liberté, the main shopping street, to Place de la Libération. ## Did you know? The arch has carried three names: Porte Condé for the governor it honoured, Arch of Liberty from 1791, and finally Porte Guillaume, after an abbot who had died more than seven centuries before it was built. ## Around Porte Guillaume What to combine with Porte Guillaume on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/dijon) (1 km away): Burgundy's historic capital, city of the Valois dukes and northern gateway to the Route des Grands Crus. - [Marsannay-la-Côte](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/marsannay-la-cote) (7 km away): Gateway to the Côte de Nuits and Burgundy's only village appellation making red, white and rosé. - [Fixin](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/fixin) (10 km away): A quiet wine village with Napoleon in the woods, a Romanesque church in the vines and firm reds. ### Châteaux - [Château de Montmusard](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-montmusard) (2 km away): The surviving wing of a daring neoclassical pleasure house designed by Charles De Wailly. - [Château de Fontaine-lès-Dijon (Maison natale de saint Bernard)](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-fontaine-les-dijon), 3 km away: The hilltop birthplace of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, overlooking Dijon. - [Château de Marsannay](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-marsannay) (7 km away): A modern wine château at the northern gateway to the Côte de Nuits. ### Things to do - [Hôtel des Postes de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-des-postes-dijon) (1 km away): Dijon's grand post office of 1909, on the site of the vanished castle, with a clock framed by Day and Night. - [Boutique Maille](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/maison-maille-dijon) (1 km away): Maille's historic Dijon mustard shop, where fresh mustard is served from the pump. - [Dijon Archaeological Museum (Musée archéologique de Dijon)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-archeologique-dijon), 1 km away: Gallo-Roman gods, Bronze Age treasure and medieval sculpture in the old abbey of Saint-Bénigne. ### Restaurants - [William Frachot](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/william-frachot-dijon) (1 km away · 2 MICHELIN stars): Dijon's two-star table, reinventing Burgundy's classics inside the Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge - [Loiseau des Ducs](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/loiseau-des-ducs-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): The Loiseau signature in Dijon, served beneath the vaults of a sixteenth-century mansion - [La Maison des Cariatides](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-maison-des-cariatides-dijon) (1 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A chef couple from Le Bristol regains a star behind one of Dijon's most ornate Renaissance façades ### Events - **Saturday, 10 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Show les papilles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/show-les-papilles-dijon): Dijon's free festival of taste at the Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Sunday, 11 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon des Grands Crus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-des-grands-crus): A marathon on the closed Route des Grands Crus, from Dijon to the Clos de Vougeot and back. (Sport · Dijon) - **Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon des Vignerons Indépendants de Bourgogne et du Jura](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-vignerons-independants-dijon): Some sixty independent growers from Burgundy and the Jura pour and sell their wines in Dijon. (Wine festival · Dijon) - **Saturday 31 October – Wednesday 11 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Foire internationale et gastronomique de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/foire-gastronomique-dijon): Burgundy's great food fair, held every autumn in Dijon since 1921. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of January.** · [Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/feeries-de-noel-dijon): Chalets, vin chaud, an ice rink and a big wheel across the heart of Dijon. (Christmas · Dijon) - **Usually from late November to early December.** · [Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/nuits-d-orient-et-d-ailleurs-dijon): Dijon's winter festival of music, dance and art from the Orient and beyond. (Culture · Dijon) - **Each year on the weekend after the Saint-Vincent Tournante, usually a Saturday in late January or early February.** · [Saint-Vincent de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-de-dijon): Dijon honours the patron saint of winegrowers with a parade and a tasting village. (Tradition · Dijon) - **Usually a weekend in early June.** · [Grand Prix de l’Âge d’Or](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/grand-prix-age-d-or-dijon-prenois): France's oldest historic motor racing meeting, on the hills just outside Dijon. (Sport · Prenois) - **Every Sunday from late June to late September.** · [Le Brunch des Halles](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/brunch-des-halles-dijon): Summer Sunday brunches cooked by local chefs under Dijon's iron market hall. (Food & markets · Dijon) - **Every two years, in even-numbered years; recent editions were held in early July. The next is expected in 2028.** · [Les Fêtes de la Vigne de Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fetes-de-la-vigne-dijon): Dijon's international folk festival, born in 1946 and held every two years. (Culture · Dijon) - **Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Golden Coast Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/golden-coast-festival-dijon): Three days of French and international rap in a park on the edge of Dijon. (Music · Dijon) - **Usually a Sunday in mid September.** · [Vélotour Dijon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/velotour-dijon): A playful bike ride through Dijon that opens places normally closed to cyclists. (Sport · Dijon) - **Usually the third weekend of September, during the European Heritage Days.** · [Fête de la Pressée](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-de-la-pressee-chenove): The dukes' giant wine presses come back to life in Chenôve's old village. (Tradition · Chenôve) - **Usually the last days of September and the first days of October.** · [Tribu Festival](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/tribu-festival-dijon): Dijon's festival of world music, jazz and adventurous sounds, at the turn of October. (Music · Dijon) ## Questions about Porte Guillaume ### How far is Porte Guillaume from Beaune? Porte Guillaume is about 44 min from Beaune by road (48 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €120 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Porte Guillaume take? For the visit, allow 10 to 15 minutes. ### When is Porte Guillaume open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (destinationdijon.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Porte Guillaume? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Full-day wine tour, €560](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:porteguillaume): €120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - --- Canonical page: