Grasse Perfume Houses

Grasse has been the capital of perfume for three centuries, and its know-how in growing perfume plants, extracting their essences and composing fragrances is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The town began as a centre for tanning leather and turned to scenting gloves in the sixteenth century; by the eighteenth, the surrounding hills were covered in jasmine, May roses and tuberose, and Grasse had become the supplier of essences to the great Paris houses. Today the industry is mostly about raw materials and flavourings, but the historic perfumeries still welcome visitors, and a day in Grasse is the most fragrant day trip on the Riviera. Three family houses are the classic names: Fragonard, named after the painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard who was born in Grasse, Molinard and Galimard. All offer factory visits and sell their perfumes, and all run workshops where you work with a perfumer's organ of essences to compose your own scent. The workshop we recommend is bookable online: a guided visit of Fragonard's La Fabrique des Fleurs, a modern production site set among flower fields just outside the town centre, followed by a short workshop around the house's flower of the year, where you create a small bottle of eau de toilette to take home. The whole thing takes about forty-five minutes with a guide in English or French, and it suits first-timers, couples and older children far better than a passive tour. Add the town's perfume museum and an hour in the old town's steep lanes and you have a full day.

Making the most of Grasse: the old town is built on a steep slope, with narrow medieval lanes, stairways and squares such as the Place aux Aires with its arcades and fountain, and views down to the sea from the cathedral terrace. The Musée International de la Parfumerie traces the history of scent from antiquity to today, with bottles, stills, advertising and a garden of perfume plants. Fragonard's historic factory in town is close to the museums; La Fabrique des Fleurs, where the bookable workshop takes place, is on the route de Cannes a short drive or bus ride from the centre, so allow time for the transfer and follow the meeting instructions on your ticket.

When to go: May is the month of the rose, celebrated with a festival, and August of jasmine, with its own festival and processions; at those times the fields around Grasse are in flower. In winter there are no blooms, but the factories, workshops and museums operate, the town is quiet and the light over the hills is beautiful. Shops and workshops are busiest in summer, when booking ahead is essential. Bring a small budget for perfume: the factory shops sell at attractive prices and the colognes make good gifts.

Getting there: regional trains run from Nice to Grasse in a little over an hour, and Grasse station is below the old town, with a steep climb or a short bus or taxi ride up. By car, Grasse combines naturally with Mougins or with the hill villages around Gourdon. For a single-day loop, many visitors pair Grasse with Cannes: perfume in the morning, the Croisette and the Old Port in the afternoon. If you want more than a sniff of the subject, the workshop is the best way to understand why Grasse matters.