Place Saint-Pierre sits at the foot of the cathedral hill and marks the transition between the Cité Plantagenêt and the lower new town. The square and the streets immediately above it contain some of the finest Renaissance architecture in the Sarthe — stone-fronted mansions built by wealthy merchants and clergy in the 16th century, their facades carved with pilasters, medallions, and portrait busts in the French Renaissance manner.
The Maison de la Reine Bérengère — named after Berengaria of Navarre, Richard I's queen who spent her later years in Le Mans — houses a local history museum. The house itself, with its carved wooden facade, is the main attraction. The neighbouring streets, particularly the Rue des Chanoines and the Rue Saint-Honoré, are worth exploring slowly for the layers of architectural detail accumulated over five centuries.