Porte Saint-Antoine

The Porte Saint-Antoine once stood as the formidable eastern gateway to Paris, controlling access to the city through a pair of massive medieval towers. King Charles the Fifth ordered its construction in the fourteenth century as part of a new defensive wall designed to protect the capital during the Hundred Years' War. This gate served as the primary entry point for monarchs, who frequently used its grand arch for ceremonial processions, draped in tapestries and banners to signal the prestige of the French crown.