It extends to the south along the edge of the plateau.

Some of the mansions built on the declivity itself have a double row of terraces whence one can see the whole valley of the Viorne, a most charming vista much vaunted in that part of the country.
Then on the north-west, the old quarter, formed of the original town, rears its narrow, tortuous lanes bordered with tottering hovels.

The Town-Hall, the Civil Court, the Market, and the Gendarmerie barracks are situated here.

This, the most populous part of the Plassans, is inhabited by working-men and shop-keepers, all the wretched, toiling, common folk.

The new town forms a sort of parallelogram to the north-east; the well-to-do, those who have slowly amassed a fortune, and those engaged in the liberal professions, here occupy houses set out in straight lines and coloured a light yellow.