Grasse : August 2012
Getting to Grasse from Nice by local transportation, one has two choices:
TER
Cost : 20 Euros (aller / retour - two-way)
Travel time: 1 hour
Bus 500
Cost : 2 Euros (aller / retour - two-way)
Travel time : 1 hour 45 minutes
For my friends and I, since we weren’t in a hurry and wanted to take the liberty to enjoy the nice scenery of the entire city of Nice going to the small town of Grasse, we opted for the cheaper option, the bus.
Our Canadian friends had been there a few weeks ago and I asked them to bring me a map so we can plan our trip ahead. They were not only kind enough to bring me one but they also told me about places that might interest me. One of which was the famous Fragonard where one of the world’s best perfumes are made.
There were too many fragrant scents that we almost spent the entire Sunday afternoon just sniffing on these magical perfumes !
Beside the Fragonard store is its big usine (factory) open to the public so we went ahead and checked it out and also took advantage of the free tour in the language of your choice! Ricky signed us up for the French tour. Challenge accepted !
If you’re familiar with the movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, then you may also know that it actually took place here in Grasse. And look, they use the method Jean-Baptiste employed to preserve scent. The judging room - where they mix and match scents to create the perfect perfume !
After our tour with our perky guide, we had a little guessing game. These containers made of (I actually forgot what) preserve and hold the scent for as long as 20 years ! Impressive (and expensive !) She handed out strips of paper, sprayed on some perfume and left us to guess which scents were mixed on it. It was fun ! I couldn’t get any of them right, though. I’m not really a big perfume fan anyway so that explains.
We spent almost the entire day in Fragonard. A few hours before we catch the next bus back to Nice, we strolled around the streets of Grasse under the warm summer day. Fortunately, they have these strings with sprays lined up like clothes line along the streets and emit some mist to keep pedestrians feeling refreshed.
There were a bunch of big fat snobbish French cats lying comfortably on the ground ! So cute !
Grasse me plait. I love small and quiet towns such as that of Grasse. They exude a soothing, relaxing and secure atmosphere that I don’t get on big cities.
I hope that when you find yourself in France, you would want to consider visiting Grasse too. It’s not your big and chic Parisian city - to some it’s even unheard of (sadly) but now as you read this story of mine, I hope you would add the charming town of Grasse to your to-go list !