The French Riviera is full of small towns, each more enchanting than the last, and the most intoxicating of them all is without doubt the town of Grasse. Lovers of beautiful flowers and bewitching perfumes can’t fail to fall under the spell of Grasse and its old town, and lose themselves in its countless perfume shops to try and capture the essence of the world’s perfume capital.
Grasse: the world capital of perfume
In the heart of the Alpes-Maritimes, the town of Grasse is proud to be recognised as the world capital of perfume. To find the origin of this eminent distinction, we have to go back to the 12th century, when the town was home to a major trade in skins. The excessively strong odour emanating from this activity led the tanners to perfume their products, thus becoming glove-makers-perfumers. To help this activity flourish, the area around Grasse began to be adorned with fields of flowers in the early 17th century, providing the city with a multitude of intoxicating scents that led it to become the sumptuous town it is today. A Town of Art and History, Grasse has much more to offer than just its fragrances: the 30-metre-high Sarrasine Tower, the Town Hall with its imposing ashlar doorway, the Musée de la Marine and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy-de-Grasse are just a few examples.
Take in the scents in the gardens
Before visiting the town’s perfume factories, it’s time to discover the very essence of Grasse: its gardens, home to a thousand varieties and species of plant. It is these gardens that give their letters of nobility to the greatest names in perfumery, the irreplaceable cradles of roses, jasmines, geraniums, lavender and orange trees. Without them, there would be no enchanting fragrances, no heart notes that evaporate on the wrist, no head-turning scents, no perfumes to take you back to your childhood memories or the discreet passage of a dark brunette in a hotel corridor. All over the city and its surroundings, in public gardens and private estates, gardening enthusiasts and professionals will be taking you to the heart of their passion to teach you about the raw materials for Grasse’s renown.
Unlock the secrets of the great noses
To immerse yourself in the olfactory wonder and, it has to be said, magical world of perfumery, take advantage of your stay in Grasse to visit the town’s three largest perfume factories, ancestral pillars that have contributed to the town’s greatness. The houses of Galimard, Fragonard and Molinard welcome you to their prestigious factories and museums to discover, step by step, how the world’s greatest perfumes are created, like Molinard’s famous Habanita. As you delve into the innermost secrets of these workshops, you’ll discover the rigorous selection of the most beautiful flowers, the slow work of the stills, the subtle elaboration of aromatic concentrates and, above all, the meticulous work of the noses who tirelessly create unique accords of floral and amber notes, sprinkled with a hint of musk, bergamot or sandalwood.
Creating your own personal fragrance
Over time, a woman’s perfume is a more moving memory than a photograph of her, as Guy de Maupassant so aptly put it. So what better way to leave a timeless trace in the memories of those you meet than to own your own perfume, your own unique scent, the very essence of your being transformed into a delicate emanation of vanilla, rose or jasmine. In Grasse, the big names in perfumery as well as small artisanal boutiques offer you the chance to create your own perfume, one that will leave your mark and make you unforgettable beyond compare.
Discover Grasse with Kingdom Limousines
Kingdom Limousines is dedicated to providing exceptional service to its CLIENTS, transporting you through the typical streets of Grasse’s old town for an incredible experience in the heart of the world’s perfume capital. Aboard our luxury sedans and limousines, you will travel in complete safety and comfort between the gardens of Princess Pauline and the Manon estate, between the Fragonard Museum and the International Perfumery Museum, between orange trees and jasmine fields, to fully immerse yourself in this world of scents, listed as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2018.
