Last week I took you to Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat and Villa Ephrussi De Rothschild. In today’s travelpost I will take you to another city in the south of France, which we visited during that same holiday: Grasse.  Grasse was only a 20 minute drive from our holiday home, so it was definitely on our to do list. Now the first thing that springs to mind when I think about Grasse, is perfume… and here’s why…

The perfume industry in Grass has been flourishing since the 18^th century and the town is considered the world’s perfume capital. It’s because of the microclimate that grass can produce many flowers, eg jasmine, a flower which is a key ingredient in many perfumes.

There are three perfumeries in Grasse which can be visited: Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard. During our trip to Grasse, we decided to do a free tour at Fragonard.

 Parfumerie Fragonard opened in 1926 by Eugène Fuchs. He named the parfumerie after the famous Grasse-born painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. In the 70’s, the perfumery expanded rapidly. We enjoyed our tour which was given by a very enthousiastic woman who could really sell her stuff! The tour of course ended up on the factory’s shop where we bought some perfume.

The perfume I bought for myself, Fragonard, was an instant favourite (as you can read in this post).  After a couple of days I already regretted only buying a small bottle. But we were heading home and I didn’t have the time anymore to go and buy a larger bottle. I was lucky enough that my best friend Katrien had just arrived at the Côte d’Azur. I asked her if she could buy me a large bottle of this perfume should she visit a Fragonard shop and of course she did 🙂

The fact that you cannot buy these perfumes in any cosmetic store, but only at Fragonard shops, makes them a bit more exclusive. Fragonard has a couple of shops in France, but you can also buy online of course. Last year on a daytrip to Paris, I bought a new bottle in a Fragonard shop in Paris. Once this bottle is finished, I will want to replace it again as it is one of my favourite perfumes and it always brings me back to this beautiful holiday at the Côte d’Azur 🙂

Besides the trip to the Fragonard factory, we enjoyed a stroll through this beautiful French town. In summer the narrow streets are sprayed with a lavender smell which is absolutely delicious.

Grasse is beautifully situated in the Alpes-Maritimes. On another day, we drove around the countryside around Grasse, just to be stunned about the beauty of this region. I let the pictures below speak for themselves… If these don’t make you want to visit this French region I don’t know what will…

Have you already visited Grasse? Did you visit the Fragonard factory? Let me know in the comments!

Love, Kathleen

Here you can see a post about Ile Sainte-Marguerite, a little island off the coast from Cannes.