Climbing on
the first slopes of the high plateaus of limestones and dominating
the scented plains from which it draws the reputation, the town
of Grasse is of a tempting and varied charm. This old city of Provence,
with its houses with four or five stages, its narrow and sinuous
streets that connect of the cross-pieces, strong slopes or even
staircases, forming a picturesque unit, is thus famous for a softness
of living specific to the back-country. Powerful commercial republic
in the Middle Ages, it knew to preserve its old city, rich in testimonys
of the past.
Grasse began
to develop as early as the 11th century, though it was in the 12th
century that the town knew real economic prosperity thanks to a
treaty drawn up with Genoa in Italy. Later attached to the County
of Provence, then the Kingdom of Savoy, Grasse benefitted from the
development of its leather-tanning industry in the 15th century,
then from another activity that grew out of the first: perfume manufacturing.
Nestling in
the hills beyond Cannes, Grasse is the only large town on the Côte
d'Azur not at the edge of the Mediterranean. But Grasse is also
unique for other reasons. Capital of the Perfume Industry, it is
a town of fragrance whose steep streets are well worth discovering.
In fact, in
the 18th century, Grasse became the Capital of the Perfume Industry.
Since then, the perfume and food flavor industry has made incredible
progress, leaving Grasse with a fragrance unique on the Côte
d'Azur. Now
is the principal industrial center of the Riviera, responsible for
the 2/3 of the French natural aromatic production, both for food
industry abd for perfumery.
You will be
able to visit tourist perfumeries which propose free guided tours
in all languages and will make you discover the history of perfumery
in their shops. You will be able also to initiate you with the creation
of perfumes and toilet water. In the evening, the Casino of the
Flowers invites you to discover within a prestigious framework the
magic of the play. The Office of Tourism holds at your disposal
its practical guide in which you will find the co-ordinates of all
tourist leisures and perfumeries.
Tourist Office
Cours Honoré Cresp
Phone: +33(0)493 36 66 66
Fax: +33(0)493 36 86 36
