Grasse’s Hôtel de Ville (town hall) occupies what used to be the bishop’s palace. The imposing square red tufa watchtower dates from the 12C. It bears an inscription in memory of the Grasse poet Louis Bellaud de la Bellaudière (1532-88), whose life and works, written in the Provençal language, closely resembled those of the French satirist Rabelais.