Grasse: The Perfume Capital of the World
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Grasse: The Perfume Capital of the World
225 + 100 XP
Grasse turned from tanning leather to perfume when scented gloves became the fashion at court, and it has been called the world capital of perfume since the 17th century. About sixty fragrance companies still work here, and the town's perfume-making skills were added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2018.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Visit the Musee International de la Parfumerie in the ochre Ponteves mansion of 1778 with the blue shutters, and among its 50,000 objects work out the whole chain - the raw flowers, the extraction machines, the bottles and the advertising posters - then finish in the glasshouse and the little orange garden behind it
2
of 4
Take the free guided tour of the Fragonard factory, in one of the oldest perfume works in the town since 1926, follow the raw flower through to the bottle, and then blend your own eau de toilette at the bench
3
of 4
Walk the Jardins du MIP at Mouans-Sartoux, over 700 plant species and a Jardin remarquable since 2022: take the scent trail on the east side, then cross to the conservatory beds where the May roses, jasmine and tuberose grown for Grasse perfume are kept, and the 1,000 square metres of forgotten plants. The sign at the gate tells you to touch and smell everything
4
of 4
In the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy find the three Rubens - the Crowning with Thorns, Saint Helena and the Raising of the Cross - painted for Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, left to the Grasse hospital in 1827 and hung here since 1972, and beside them the Washing of the Feet that the town's own Jean-Honore Fragonard painted for the Confrerie du Saint Sacrement in 1754
Visit the Musee International de la Parfumerie in the ochre Ponteves mansion of 1778 with the blue shutters, and among its 50,000 objects work out the whole chain - the raw flowers, the extraction machines, the bottles and the advertising posters - then finish in the glasshouse and the little orange garden behind it
Take the free guided tour of the Fragonard factory, in one of the oldest perfume works in the town since 1926, follow the raw flower through to the bottle, and then blend your own eau de toilette at the bench
Walk the Jardins du MIP at Mouans-Sartoux, over 700 plant species and a Jardin remarquable since 2022: take the scent trail on the east side, then cross to the conservatory beds where the May roses, jasmine and tuberose grown for Grasse perfume are kept, and the 1,000 square metres of forgotten plants. The sign at the gate tells you to touch and smell everything
In the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy find the three Rubens - the Crowning with Thorns, Saint Helena and the Raising of the Cross - painted for Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, left to the Grasse hospital in 1827 and hung here since 1972, and beside them the Washing of the Feet that the town's own Jean-Honore Fragonard painted for the Confrerie du Saint Sacrement in 1754
Before you go
The Jardins du MIP at Mouans-Sartoux open from 1 March to 11 November, 9am to 6pm, and are shut for the rest of the winter - in December to February do the town museums instead.
The factory tours at Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard are free and guided, but they fill in summer; go first thing or late afternoon.
Grasse old town is steep and stepped with narrow one-way streets; park in the lower car parks rather than trying to drive up.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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