The Governor's Palace stands at the eastern end of the historic peninsula, a two-storey colonial building that was the administrative centre of French West Africa before the epidemics ended Grand-Bassam's brief moment of importance. The scale is impressive even in its current state of partial ruin — wide arched galleries on both floors, a formal facade, and grounds that once extended to the edge of the lagoon.
The palace is technically not open to visitors in its interior, though the grounds can be accessed and the exterior provides the best architectural photography in the historic quarter. The peeling yellow paint and overgrown gardens have become part of the appeal rather than a problem to be solved; the building has a melancholy grandeur that is more affecting than any restoration could provide.
From the palace, you can see the full length of the peninsula: the Atlantic on one side, the Comoé lagoon on the other, and the colonial streetscape stretching back toward the entrance of the historic zone.