Grasse

We spent our last "away" trip in Grasse and it did not disappoint. All of us enjoyed this hilltop, medieval village after visiting so many coastal towns recently. It felt quite lived in, less tourist oriented and more diverse than some of the others. Grasse is about 12 miles inland from the coast and to get to the top is a formidable hike. This time we took the bus from the train station to the top and it was the best €1,50 we ever spent! As with most of our day trips, we had a few sites that we wanted to see, but the rest of the time we just wandered following our instincts, rather than a map. 

The Cathedrale Nôtre Dame du Puy.

It contained three paintings by Rubens and the one below by Jean-Honoré Fragard, the namesake of the famous perfumery.

The beautiful gate to the Hôtel de Mairie.

Place de l'Evêché. These arches, now closed over, were once the vaulted entrances of former 15th and 16th century cellars and warehouses.

Magnificent views.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a restaurant called Les 3 Garçons. Le Plat du Moment was a Risotto crémeux Émincé de Poulet aux Champignons. It was superb! We even liked the bowl it was served in.

Here is the chef hamming it up

One of the main streets in Grasse. We followed this road down to the perfumery.

Prior to our visit I had done a little reading and discovered that Grasse is the world's capital of perfume - la capitale mondiale des parfums. It even smelled good as we got off of the train. Grasse produces more than 2/3 of France's natural aromas for perfumes and flavorings and its microclimate is condusive to growing a variety of flowers. Nowadays, modern fragrances contain synthetic chemicals so Grasse has adapted by turning to aromatic synthesis and food flavorings.There are several perfumeries in Grasse including Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard. We decided to go to the Parfumerie Fragonard for a tour to learn about perfume production.

Our tour guide who spoke English was very engaging. She led us through a number of rooms with a variety of equipment as she talked about distillation, perfume essences, soap manufacturing, packaging etc. It was most interesting.

At the end of the tour, we landed up at the perfume counters where she gave us the opportunity to test our noses "les nez" to see if we could detect the subtle and not so subtle scents of citrus, spice and florals.

 

Of course, we had to buy some perfume. How could you leave Grasse, the perfume capital of the world, without some?

By this time it was late afternoon and we wanted to catch the train back to Nice so walked or should I say sprinted to the bottom - it was quite a hoof and we made it to the train with about 2 minutes to spare!