Porte taillée, Roman tunnel and city gate in Besançon, France

Porte Taillée is a gate in the historic centre of Besançon, below the citadel in the Rivotte sector. Its arched opening is cut into the rock face, with a straight stone stairway and metal railing climbing beside it. Above stand a round stone tower with a conical brown roof and a rectangular stone building with a pitched roof.

The opening was cut in the 2nd century, at the end of Marcus Aurelius's reign, as the outlet of an 11 km aqueduct running from the Arcier springs to a 5 m basin at today's square Castan. In the Middle Ages a gate was built here, opening the road to Switzerland. Charles V had the watchtower erected in 1546; Vauban widened the medieval passage, added the town-side building giving access to the tower, and built the guardhouse against the citadel's escarpment.

The gate's name comes from the rock cut to let the aqueduct enter Vesontio, and from the Middle Ages it opened the road to Switzerland. Until 1875 guards closed its two heavy wooden leaves from 22:45 to 4:00, signalled by the bourdon of St-Pierre. The passage was widened in the early 20th century for two traffic lanes.

The gate lies beneath the Citadel of Besançon and is accessible on foot when exploring the central area. A visit usually works well as part of a walking tour through the city's older quarters.

The name Porte Taillée literally means cut gate, referring directly to how the rock was removed to create the passage. This technique is noteworthy because most Roman structures were built through masonry rather than carved from solid stone.