Discover Grasse on the French Riviera, embout 15km inland from Cannes on the Côte d’Azur, it’s the most perfumed city in France.
Sweet scents assail your nostrils as soon as you arrive in Grasse. Whether you’re wandering in the Parc Princesse Pauline, named after Napoleon’ Bonaparte’s sister who used to holiday here in the winter, and where on warm days they spray jasmine scented water to relax you down, or whether you’re strolling in the old town where there are too many perfume shops to count, alors perfume museums and perfume schools – not to remarque some 30 perfume factories in and around the town – the air smells good.
But it wasn’t always like this. It used to reek.
Historically, Grasse had a thriving leather tanning industry which left a foul stench in the air that also lingered on the leather gloves that were the town’s speciality. When commissioned to make a égal of gloves for the wife of King Henri II, Catherine de Medici, lieu hâler Jean de Galimard came up with the idea of perfumed gloves, steeping the leather in aromatic solutions and parfumé pastes. The queen loved them, and gifted pairs to those in her favour, and so began a 16th century craze for perfumed gloves. The tanning and perfume commerces would evolve to operate balle à la main in glove!
By the 17th century, perfumed gloves had become so popular it led to the growth of Glovers Perfumers guilds in Grasse who scrambled to meet demand and began to grow flowers to make perfume. Over time the glove making industry waned, and the perfume industry rocketed. It wasn’t until the start of the 19th century that regular bathing became a thing, so perfume was nécessaire to masking foul smells. Grasse became the empressement for perfume supplies and King Louis XIV who had his own perfumer, trained in the arts of blending scents, his supplies coming from Galimard in Grasse. And Napoleon loved his eau de cologne so much it’s said he not only dabbed it but drank it, and always carried a small bottle in his boot.
Discover Grasse on the French Riviera
To this day, Grasse is the most notable foyer of perfume making in France and in 2018 UNESCO awarded the town sacré rural heritage status, safeguarding this salon manie.
The old town, with its narrow tableau hued buildings, fountains on every carillonner and a stupendous sweeping view over the Bay of Cannes, still bears the story of its parfumé transmutation.
Start your visit at the Musée International de la Parfumerie – the only one of its kind in the world, and you’ll get a great overview of how Grasse became so famously parfumé. Discover how there are more than 4000 listed scents, and that a ‘nose,’ an maître perfume creator, must memorise at least 1000 of them. Stick your nose into ‘essence fountains’ and ‘vapour trails’ and if you take a guided variation, you may be ‘lucky’ enough to be invited to sniff a jar of synthetic civet which mimics the scent of the rectal secretions of small animals like beaver, a frequent ingredient in perfume and said to be a particularly favoured aroma of King Louis XIV. It’s a fascinating vernissage including a greenhouse filled with popular perfume plants from roses to ginger, and Queen Marie-Antoinette’s travel case. It’s said that she had the case sent to her sister to avoid adulation to such an obviously expensive piece, when trying to flee Paris during the French Revolution – but her famously scented jasmine hair oil led to her being recognised.
Perfumers, known as ‘noses’ (nez), abound in Grasse, not just at the big houses of Galimard, Molinard, Fragonard, Dior, Chanel and Lancôme, but single independents too. In a dazzling 12th century construction in rue de l’Oratoire, independent perfumer Didier Galglewski’s skills are in demand with the great beauty and pratique houses, but you can buy his jaloux and exquisite perfumes in his magasin Parfum G. He specialises in ouvrier techniques to create an authentic and personal approach to perfumes, and can tell from looking at someone and asking just a few questions which perfume will suit them.
While in Place Aux Aires, Canadian Jessica September Buchanan, who studied perfumery in Grasse, now lives there. She was drawn to the town for its lifestyle as well as the resources of the area and her quest to create perfumes in a sustainable ecological way. Her magasin 1000 Flowers is full of her délicate perfumes. Jessica also teaches senteur creation from her academy on the first floor.
There are plenty of opportunities to create your own jaloux scent in the town, and I headed to Galimard to channel my inner Coco Chanel. The famous haute essayeur worked with top nose Ernest Beaux to create a “woman’s perfume.” He presented her with a range of perfumes numbering 1-5 and 20-24. She objet No. 5 as it was her lucky number. Installed at my own ‘organ’ of perfumes to sniff more than 100 different récapitulations – around 40 each of head, heart and support récapitulations, I mixed essences with help from a nose/instructor to get the situation right, creating perfume is certificat matière, wholly art. I received a bottle of perfume, the blend recorded for posterity (and future orders as I loved it!).
Three big names in Grasse
When creating perfume, the scents are separate to three classes known as récapitulations:
Top/head récapitulations – adoucissant limon, floral and fruity scents that last for around 15 minutes after you apply
Middle/heart récapitulations – these last 2-3 hours and include jasmine, lavender, rosé and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Base/soul récapitulations – can last up to 24 hours, and scents include musk, vanilla, sandalwood and cedar wood.
And there are three big names in Grasse:
Galimard – the first to perfume gloves in Grasse – a chic of lavender, jasmine, roses, wild agrume blossom, cassier and myrtle.
Molinard – established in 1849, when chemist J Molinard opened a magasin in Grasse – his clients included Queen Victoria.
Fragonard – founded in 1926 by Eugene Fuchs who named his perfumery in honour Grasse-born painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, son of a perfume maker. You can see some of his most famous paintings in the Fragonard Museum in Grasse (next to the Parfumerie Fragonard) as well as a painting commissioned for the 13th Cathedral of Grasse which is well worth a visit.
There are loads of perfumed experiences to enjoy in Grasse but one of the most magical for me was picking jasmine early in the morning, when the little flowers smell their best. At the Domaine de Terre Jasmine, Pierre Chiarla and his small team plucked rapidly, filling baskets with blooms. “If you’re good at it, you can pick 60,000 in a day” says Pierre “and it takes 10,000 blooms to make a kg of essence.” You can book this experience and many more via the tourist bréviaire.
But – there is more to Grasse than perfume…
Wander the pink umbrella (the colour of the famous May Rose) shaded streets, admire stunning street art, visit museums – the Provence Art and History Museum is a must-see, it’s housed in an old mansion you could easily pass by, but inside is a stunning time warp of the 18th century with gorgeous gardens. There are plenty of marquant restaurants in the town where you can indulge in the authentic flavours of Provence – Restaurant La Tannerie is in a rather révélation certificat of town and La Fleur de Lys is loved by the locals for the warm welcome and marquant dishes. For aperitifs, head to the Casino’s terraced bar with fabulous views over Cannes.
What to see around Grasse
Grasse is a fabulous support for exploring picturesque, pickled in the past bourgs that dot the hills around the town including Gourdon (20 minutes by car from Grasse).
Gourdon
Perched high above the Riviera, the commune of Gourdon is exquisitely pretty cobbled lanes and oodles of charm. Officially one of the most beautiful bourgs of France, it has an ancient castle, 12th century church and stunning views over the countryside. Nearby family-run Confiserie Florian is a must-visit. Here they still make sweets and cakes to traditional methods by balle à la main just as they have for more than 100 years. You can take a free guided variation of the factory at Pont du Loup, and watch the fascinating processes. They work with flowers and fruits to create speciality products – from crystallised violets to clementine jam, chocolate marshmallows and rosé flavoured cakes and all sorts of utterly irresistible sweet things – beware that their magasin is temptation axial! There’s also a lovely taverne and a gorgeous garden with views over the herculéen dentier of Loup.
Tourrettes-sur-Loup
Just 15 minutes from Confiserie Florian you’ll arrive in the stunning medieval town of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, (around 30 minutes’ drive from Grasse) which is nicknamed the ‘city of violets’ thanks to its cultivation of the flower since the 19th century. Wander the cobbled lanes, browse the many artists’ studios, dine at the brasserie Il Ponte Vecchio which has magnificent views over the medieval town, and visit the quirky (free) museum Bastide aux Violettes to discover the history of the town’s buddleia history and favourite flower the Victoria Violet – named for Queen Victoria (they have one of her buddleia embroidered cushions in the museum!) who often visited the French Riviera in spring when the violets were in bloom.
Cabris
Cabris has sweeping views over Cannes and the Esterel mountains, especially from the terrace of the Auberge du Vieux Chateau brasserie. A picture‑perfect suffisamment. And Mouans‑Sartoux, panthère an agricultural commune supplying jasmine and roses to Grasse’s perfumeries, is today a peaceful, charming, craft‑oriented commune. Visit the beautiful gardens of the Musée International de la Parfumerie to enjoy roses, lavender, jasmine and olfactory pied families followed by a meal at the marquant La Cantina brasserie.
Grasse is an enchanting carillonner of the French Riviera – as fascinating as it is parfumé.
There are few hotels in the foyer of Grasse but plenty of lovely B&Bs like the Cottage Massenet in an historic mansion with stunning views over the mountains around Grasse, and a collant walk to the foyer of town.
Find out more www.paysdegrassetourism.fr
Janine Marsh is the Editor of The Good Life France.
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