Porte Guillaume
An 18th-century triumphal arch on Place Darcy, built on the site of a medieval city gate.
- Heritage site
- 44 min from Beaune
- Allow 10 to 15 minutes
- Dijon
€120one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- destinationdijon.com
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 44 min by road (48 km), €120 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour, €560.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
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.
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.
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.
Planning your visit
Tips for 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.
Around here
What to combine with Porte Guillaume on the same day, nearest first.
Dijon
1 km awayMarsannay-la-Côte
7 km awayFixin
10 km away
- Christmas
Les Fééries de Noël de Dijon
Usually from the last Saturday of November to the first Sunday of JanuaryDijon - Tradition
Fête de la Pressée
Usually the third weekend of September, during the European Heritage DaysChenôve
Questions
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.
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.
Sources
Porte Guillaume with a private driver
€120 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests