En un regard
Le château en bref
The Portal de France is the former north-eastern gate of the town walls of Céret, in the Vallespir. A remnant of the medieval ramparts built during the period of the Kingdom of Majorca, it was the main entrance to the town for travellers coming from the Roussillon plain, who crossed the Pont du Diable and then climbed the Carrer Vell (now the rue de la République). Originally flanked by two towers facing France and by curtain walls, the gate was preceded by a moat crossed by a drawbridge, and opened onto the Place du Barri, a market and festival square. In the 19th century the town opened up: the ramparts were partly demolished or converted into dwellings, and the gate, preserved, received at the end of the century a crowning in pressed terracotta matching the façades of the two buildings that flank it.