Overview of the Most Famous Perfume Houses
The town of Grasse is world-famous for making perfume. Fragrances of rose, jasmine, violet, mimosa and lavender waft on the breezes around this area. Flowers for the essences that produce the perfumes are still grown today in the fields around Grasse. A dear friend lives next door to some of the jasmine fields and he describes how the people who harvest the jasmine show up just before dawn to pick the flowers.
The three main perfume houses are: Fragonard, Galimard, and Molinard. We have taken the tour at the Fragonard factory and really enjoyed it as well as their wonderful boutique. But all the houses offer tours and classes that teach you how to make your own perfume.
In addition, in the town there is an excellent museum of perfume making. And the town is a lovely medieval, provençal village (now larger town) to walk around. Visiting Grasse is a great day trip, and you can most easily get there on the train (make sure you are on the local train that takes the turn to Grasse and doesn’t continue to Mandelieu — it makes the turn in Cannes).
Fragonard Perfumerie: https://www.fragonard.com/fr/
Molinard Perfumerie: https://www.molinard.com/la-visite
Galimard Perfumerie: https://www.galimard.com