The flamboyant Gothic Palais de Justice is the finest surviving non-religious medieval building in Rouen and one of the great civil-Gothic monuments in northern Europe. Built around 1500 as the seat of the Norman parliament, the façade is a delirious explosion of pinnacles, gargoyles, and statues; the central staircase tower is the photogenic crowd-pleaser.
The medieval Jewish quarter — and a remarkable 12th-century synagogue building, the oldest in France — was discovered under the courthouse courtyard during repair work in the 1970s. Guided visits down to the synagogue are run by the city tourist office.