The Palace of the Counts of Maine stands within the old city walls and represents one of the few surviving medieval palaces in northwestern France. The structure dates from the Merovingian period in its earliest foundations, with substantial rebuilding in the 9th and 10th centuries when it served as the residence of the counts who governed the province of Maine.
The surviving remains include a substantial section of tower and medieval masonry, integrated into the later buildings of the Hôtel de Ville complex. The palace's history intersects with the Plantagenet dynasty — the counts of Maine were predecessors to the English royal line, and the building's stones witnessed the political manoeuvring that eventually led to the Norman conquest of England. The site sits adjacent to the cathedral on the highest point of the old city.