The Place Jean Jaurès is the great Belle Époque set-piece of Tours — a vast paved square at the southern end of Rue Nationale, framed by Victor Laloux's Hôtel de Ville and the equally grand Palais de Justice. The fountains run in summer and the square is one of the city's main meeting places, especially for student gatherings on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tram line A passes through the square and you can see the original 19th-century plan of Tours opening out from here: north up Rue Nationale to the river, south down Avenue de Grammont to the suburbs. The cafés on the square are a useful orientation point even if you don't actually want a coffee.