In front of the Palais de Justice lies the Place des Prêcheurs, opened in the 15th century by King René, which became the center of public and social life before the creation of the Cours Mirabeau.
On the site of the former convent of the Preachers (Dominicans) established in 1274, Laurent Vallon built the Church of the Madeleine (1691-1703). But the facade, which remained unfinished, received a monumental veneer from Revoil in 1855-1860. On the south exterior and at the apse of the church, medieval elements reused in the Vallon construction site are visible: collaterals, buttresses, gutter walls. This church-museum contains numerous works by artists who lived in Aix, including the exceptional Altarpiece of the Annunciation dating from 1444.