Porte Cailhau was built in 1493 to celebrate a French military victory in Italy, but look closely, and you'll notice something odd: the defensive windows face inwards. Archer slits, cannon hatches, all pointed at the city rather than potential invaders.

Charles VII had grown so paranoid about violent revolts in Bordeaux that he fortified the gate against his own citizens. The Bordelais would wait another three centuries before successfully overthrowing the monarchy.

The gate takes its name from the Gascon dialect word for the stones dredged from the Garonne riverbed to build it. Ships once docked just beyond its archway, making this the city's principal entrance when Bordeaux was still a working port.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace how medieval Bordeaux's five gates shaped the city, exploring why this and the Grosse Cloche survived while 18th-century tastes condemned others as unfashionable relics.