French Riviera by Emilie
Around Grasse: from perfume flowers to the museum's bottles
A rose in a garden and its scent in a bottle tell two parts of the same story. Around Grasse, you can move from one to the other: identify the plants in the International Perfume Museum's gardens in Mouans-Sartoux, then discover the techniques and objects used to transform them at the museum. I suggest choosing your first stop according to the season and what you would like to do: look, smell or blend.
In Mouans-Sartoux, begin with the plants
The MIP gardens put a face to names found in perfume descriptions: centifolia rose, jasmine, tuberose, geranium and lavender. Among the beds, you can connect a leaf or flower with a raw ingredient. For anyone who enjoys gardening, the visit soon becomes a search for familiar plants and new discoveries to take home as ideas, rather than bouquets.
If you come for the centifolia rose, choose spring: its other name, the May rose, tells you when. At other times of year, look at what is growing then and at the foliage. I recommend asking at reception which plants deserve attention that day. It is more useful than a flowering calendar prepared months ahead.
The gardens are in Mouans-Sartoux, not in central Grasse. From Mougins or Valbonne, they can be an outing in their own right. From March to November, they open from 9 am to 6 pm, with last entry thirty minutes before closing. Give yourselves time to explore the paths, then head home for lunch if you would like the afternoon at the house.
In Grasse, bottles tell the story of how perfume was used
The International Perfume Museum is at 2 boulevard du Jeu de Ballon. Its collections explore how perfume is made, but also its place in everyday life: containers, boxes and objects people carried with them. I suggest looking as closely at the bottles as at what they held. A shape, a stopper or a travelling case can reveal how perfume was used.
For autumn and winter 2026, “Une Nuit au Musée – Signée Barclay” offers another way of looking at these objects. Guillaume Barclay photographs bottles from the collections; prints, original objects and projections are shown in relation to one another. The exhibition runs from 12 September 2026 to 7 March 2027, during museum opening hours.
Outside July and August, the MIP opens from 10 am to 6 pm. Arrive before 5 pm to buy your ticket, and earlier if you want time to explore: rooms begin to close at 5.30 pm. In October 2026, the museum is closed on Monday the 5th. Afterwards, leave time for the old town's streets rather than heading straight off to a second site.
Make your own perfume, if you would like to try
A workshop can be the focus of the day, especially with visiting friends. Part of the enjoyment is comparing your choices: the same set of ingredients does not lead everyone to the same fragrance. If blending is what interests you, choose a guided session where you actually make a perfume, rather than simply a tour of the production process.
Before booking, check the duration, the bottle you take home and the language of the workshop. For English- or Swedish-speaking guests, understanding the explanations makes a real difference. If children are joining, check the minimum age for that particular session.
I recommend keeping the museum and a workshop for separate outings if you are staying several days. Come first for the history of perfume, then return with a clearer idea of what you would like to create. The gardens, too, deserve another visit when the season changes.