Grasse: the town of perfumers

Medieval Grasse was a town of tanners. Treated leather smelled unpleasant, and when perfumed gloves became fashionable in the 16th century, tanners scented them with floral essences. Glove fashions faded; perfume-making remained and became the main trade.

The mild climate between sea and mountains suits flowers perfectly. Jasmine, rose, tuberose, mimosa and lavender fields supplied ingredients, while local craftspeople developed ways to extract petal scents. Most modern perfume worldwide uses synthetic ingredients, but leading houses still buy Grasse's natural absolutes.

Perfume factories

Three historic houses offer free tours covering distillation, extraction, a perfumer's work and, of course, the shop.

International Perfume Museum

Four thousand years of fragrance history: bottles, stills and scents of ancient Egypt and royal courts. The museum also has gardens nearby with perfume-flower fields.

The old town

Steep narrow streets, steps and Place aux Aires, with arcades, a fountain and morning market. Notre-Dame-du-Puy Cathedral contains three paintings by young Rubens.

Fragonard villa-museum

Painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard was born in Grasse in 1732. The villa displays his painted decorations and pictures.

Almost every house offers workshops where a perfumer guides you through composing a fragrance in one to two hours: top, heart and base notes from dozens of essences. Take your bottle home; the formula is kept for reorders. Book ahead, especially in summer.

Jasmine is hand-picked at dawn before flowers fully open. A kilogram of absolute needs hundreds of kilograms of flowers, explaining the price.

• ExpoRose, in May: a rose exhibition in the old town.

• Jasmine Festival, early August: floats, flower battles and streets sprayed with jasmine-scented water.

Patrick Süskind's novel Perfume is partly set in Grasse. The film was mostly shot in Spain.

A good day: factory and workshop in Grasse, old-town lunch, then the cliff-top village of Gourdon or Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Read “Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze”.

Grasse cooking is Provençal: olive oil, fougasse, sou-fassum, local stuffed cabbage, winter truffles, ice cream and violet- and rose-scented sweets.

Floral fragrance comes from tiny amounts of volatile oils in petals. Grasse perfumers have spent centuries developing ways to collect them:

Enfleurage is an old, costly method rarely used today, but demonstrated on factory tours. Solvent extraction began in 19th-century Grasse, a perfume-industry revolution.

How many flowers? Around three to four tonnes of petals for one kilogram of rose absolute; around 700 kg of jasmine flowers for one kilogram of jasmine absolute, millions of flowers picked by hand. That explains natural perfume's price.

A nose, le nez, is the perfumer creating a scent. They distinguish thousands of smells and construct formulas from dozens or hundreds of ingredients. Training takes years; many famous noses studied or worked in Grasse, which has a specialist school. Tours show the perfumer's organ, a semicircular desk holding hundreds of bottles.

A fragrance unfolds gradually, like a musical chord, in three parts:

• Top notes, the first 15–30 minutes: citrus, fresh herbs and fruit.

• Heart notes, lasting hours: flowers, rose, jasmine and iris, and spices.
• Base notes, remaining until evening: woods, vanilla, musk and amber.

Workshops provide around ten essences in each group, to mix until you find your formula. Tip: do not overuse top notes or the scent will fade quickly; add base notes for longevity.

Many famous 20th-century perfumes are linked to Grasse. May rose and jasmine for one of the world's best-known fragrances are still grown on dedicated nearby fields: the house owns plantations and buys the whole harvest. Other major houses have returned and bought flower-growing land to preserve natural ingredients. Small independent perfumers open old-town shops with fragrances unavailable in large stores.

On hills towards the sea lie Côtes de Provence vineyards and Bellet, near Nice. Wine tasting after a perfume factory is fascinating: a Provence rosé's white flowers, peach and herbs become clearer after smelling essences. A good day: morning Grasse, then lunch and a winery tasting towards the coast.

Built on a steep slope, the old town consists of stairs and passages. A 90-minute route:

1. Place aux Aires, morning flowers, vegetables and cheese beneath arcades.
2. Rue Droite, medieval Grasse's main shopping street.
3. Notre-Dame-du-Puy, a 12th-century Romanesque cathedral with Rubens and Fragonard's Washing of the Feet.
4. Place du Puy, views over hills to the sea and Lérins Islands.
5. International Perfume Museum, near the cathedral.
6. Fragonard factory, historic building beside the boulevard.
7. Fragonard villa-museum and Museum of Provençal Art and History, in an 18th-century mansion.

Long a poor district, the old town has been restored in recent years, attracting independent perfumers, cafés and workshops.

Old-town squares offer Provençal restaurants with terraces. Try sou-fassum, local stuffed cabbage, pan bagnat and socca from Nice, and rose- or jasmine-scented desserts: ice cream, macarons and syrups. On surrounding hills, Michelin-starred restaurants occupy old estates overlooking the sea, for special occasions.

• Gourdon, above the Loup gorge, 20 minutes away: stone streets, craft shops and coastal views to Antibes.

• Mougins, artists' and restaurant village where Picasso lived, 15 minutes away.
• Cabris and Saint-Cézaire, quiet villages overlooking Lake Saint-Cassien.
• Gorges du Loup, waterfalls and canyon, good in summer.

Winter is quiet and factories remain open, but flower fields are not in bloom.

Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard factory tours are free. Museum admission is around €6–8. Perfume workshops start at €50–70 for an hour, rising to €150–200 for longer programmes with larger bottles. Factory fragrances cost less than the same brands' shop prices: eau de toilette from €20–30, perfume from €40–50. Jasmine- and rose-scented soaps, sachets and candles start at €5, good gifts.

With cabin baggage only, remember that bottles above 100 ml are not allowed. Factories sell travel sets of small bottles and can post larger purchases.

From Nice, leave before 9 am: summer traffic through Cannes can be heavy.

Beyond Perfume, photographers and directors love Grasse's old streets and sea views. But the real spectacle is scent: even at a bus stop, jasmine sometimes drifts from a nearby factory.

Besides perfume, bring rose and orange-blossom water for baking, scented olive-oil soap, lavender sachets, candles and diffusers. Place aux Aires market sells dried flowers and lavender honey; confectioners offer crystallised violet and rose petals for cakes. Small, light gifts taking little suitcase space.

1. Thinking factories are only shops. Tours are interesting and free.
2. Not booking a summer workshop.
3. Coming for flower fields in March. Main flowers bloom in May and from August.
4. Leaving the car near the centre. Narrow streets; use underground parking.
5. Buying perfume at the first souvenir shop. Buy from factories.

Grasse is easy to add to a French Riviera excursion: perfume factory, old town, hilltop village and terrace wine. → French Riviera excursions · French Riviera towns · French Riviera food tour