Grasse Perfume and Herb Garden Workshop

Fragonard Parfumeur has been producing fragrance in Grasse—the perfume capital of Provence in the Alpes-Maritimes—since 1926, and its 2.5-hour workshop experience at the historic Boulevard Fragonard factory is among the most established hands-on perfume programmes on the Côte d'Azur. The session begins with a free guided tour of the Fragonard factory, where participants see the distillation and enfleurage equipment that have processed Grasse's famous jasmine, rose centifolia, and tuberose for nearly a century. Historical photographs and original copper stills illustrate how Grasse became the world's primary source of fine fragrance ingredients by the eighteenth century. The hands-on perfume creation workshop follows, led by an in-house parfumeur. Participants are introduced to the structure of the fragrance pyramid—top, heart, and base notes—through a curated selection of approximately thirty raw materials including citrus essences, lavender, rose absolute, and woody bases such as sandalwood and vetiver. Using a pipette and calibrated formula sheet, each participant blends a personal signature scent, which is poured and sealed in a 10ml glass bottle to take home. Standard sessions are conducted in French with English translation; private English-only workshops can be booked for groups of four or more. The session also incorporates a twenty-minute walk through Fragonard's Provençal herb garden adjacent to the factory, where staff identify aromatic plants—thyme, rosemary, lavender, sage, and immortelle—that form the culinary and fragrance backbone of the region. The Fragonard factory tour is free to all visitors without reservation. The combined workshop including fragrance creation and herb garden walk is €45 per person. Groups are typically ten to fifteen participants; private sessions for up to thirty can be arranged. Children aged twelve and above are welcome in the workshop.