Grasse Area Guide

Grasse, the perfume capital of France, is perched in the hills overlooking Cannes and Mougins, just half an hour from Cannes. It is also well served by busses, and a recently established rail link. Started in March 2005, the rail line connects Grasse to Cannes in 25 minutes, and then on to Antibes, Nice, Monaco, Menton, and Ventimiglia in Italy.

Grasse has been the home and perfume capital of France and the world since the 17th century and still accounts for two thirds of France’s production. The three historic perfume houses, Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard, welcome visitors and provide free guided tours of their factories and the chance to test (and buy) their products on site.

The smell of flowers and the cool clear summer air 350m above sea level has drawn visitors and property investors for centuries, including Princess Pauline Bonaparte (the Emperor's sister), and Queen Victoria, who both spent considerable time in Grasse, the latter staying at the Rothschild’s villa or the Grand Hotel.

The centre of the town is a melee of narrow winding streets and stairways, a square Saracen tower, remains of the 16th century ramparts and medieval homes dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. There are also superb private mansions including the Hôtel de Cabris, Hôtel de Pontevès, and Court de Fontmichel, magnificent 18th century villas, and the Belle Époque casino (now converted into a conference centre). Property today is just as highly sought after for the same reasons, cooler air in summer and breath-taking views, so there are many more recent villas and apartments than there were, but Grasse retains its character.

Back in the old village a narrow street leads to the Place du Petit Puy with the 11th-century Notre Dame du Puy cathedral and its huge 18th century clock tower. Inside the cathedral are three paintings by Rubens, commissioned from the then-relatively unknown artist in 1601 by the Archduke Albert for the Santa Croce di Gerusalemme in Rome and gifted to Grasse in the 19th century, and the 1754 painting “Christ Washing the Feet of the Apostles” by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, whose name is now synonymous with perfume.

Highlights & Attractions

Walking Tours

A 90-minute historical walking tour of Grasse has been mapped by the Office de Tourisme for those interested, and the walks through the forests to discover the many caves and grottos in the limestone hills are well worthwhile for the more adventurous and the nature lovers. The Trou du Curé reaches a depth of 60 meters and the Grotte de la Cascade de St. Sauveur delves to 150 m.

There are a number of very ancient artefacts in the region of Grasse going back to the bronze age but what we see today is a true medieval town that withstood Saracen raids in the 9th century and has had a rich but turbulent history since that time, including being an independent republic with Genoa and Piza in the 12^th century. It was destroyed on orders from the Bishopric of Antibes in the 16^th century and acted as the Capital of the Var during the French Revolution, becoming part of the Alpes Maritimes when Nice became a part of France in 1860.

In addition to the three perfume museums, the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Provence displays the regions painting, archaeology, ethnology and history, and there are three traditional and ancient working olive mills well worth a visit.