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DAY TRIPS • GRASSE

Make your own perfume in Grasse: which workshop?

Grasse is where the perfume trade learned its craft, and the best way to understand it is to make one. Three historic houses run workshops for individual visitors. They differ in length, location and what you take home. Here is how to choose, and how to reach them without a car. For the town itself, read our Grasse guide.

Mametas CheckedWorkshops, museum and trains checked 16 October 2026 · official sources
Perfume bottles lined up at a perfumer’s in Grasse
Photo: Nathaly Durepaire, Pixabay
1 h to 1 h 45Length of a workshop session, depending on the house.
€65 to €69Where the price is published. Molinard shows its price when you book.
FreeFragonard’s historic factory and its perfume museum, open every day.
MAMETAS SAYS

No car and short on time: Molinard, in town, one hour. The fullest session and the biggest bottle: Galimard, if you can manage the bus. Either way, add Fragonard’s free factory tour. From Cannes or Antibes it is a half-day; from Nice, give it the whole day.

Which workshop? Our verdict

All three houses run sessions at set times for individual visitors, and all three should be booked ahead. The fourth card is free and needs no booking.

Best without a car

Molinard

Workshop
L’Atelier des Parfums
Where
In town, 60 boulevard Victor Hugo
Length
1 h
You leave with
50 ml, composed from 90 essences
Price
Shown on booking

Mametas verdict. The shortest session, and in town. Sessions at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00, in English or French, and an hour leaves time for the museum.

The catch. The price is not published before you book.

Book with Molinard ↗︎

Most complete session

Galimard

Workshop
Studio des Fragrances
Where
Outside the old town, 5 route de Pégomas
Length
1 h 30 to 1 h 45
You leave with
100 ml eau de parfum
Price
€65 adult, €55 under 15

Mametas verdict. The longest session and the biggest bottle. From age 8, in English, French, German or Italian.

The catch. Closed on Sundays, and outside the old town: the tourist office lists a bus stop within 500 m. Plan the bus or a taxi.

Book with Galimard ↗︎

A lighter fragrance

Fragonard

Workshop
Apprentice perfumer
Where
La Fabrique des Fleurs, 17 route de Cannes
Length
1 h 30
You leave with
Your own eau de Cologne
Price
€69

Mametas verdict. You compose an eau de Cologne, lighter than the eau de parfum at Galimard, with a perfumery professional alongside you.

The catch. It is not at the historic factory in town but on the road to Cannes. Online or phone booking is required.

Fragonard workshop details ↗︎

Best free hour

Fragonard’s historic factory

Visit
Guided factory tour and perfume museum
Where
In town, 20 boulevard Fragonard
Open
Every day from 9:00
Booking
Only for groups of more than 15
Price
Free

Mametas verdict. The easiest add-on to any workshop. The small museum is on the third floor.

The catch. The visit ends in the shop. That is the business model, not a trap.

Factory details ↗︎

Who should go, and who should not

Go if perfume, design, luxury or craft interest you; if you are travelling with a teenager or a student who wants to make something rather than visit something; or if you need a strong indoor plan for a rainy day.

Skip it on a three-day first trip built around Nice, Monaco and Èze. Grasse sits inland, at the western end of the rail line: from Nice, the round trip costs more time than the workshop itself.

Getting there without a car

Three legs, and only the first one is long.

  1. Train to Grasse stationDirect TER along the coast: about 25 min from Cannes, 45 min from Antibes, 1 h from Nice.
  2. Bus up to the town centreBus 5 or the Centifolia shuttle, from opposite the station: about 10 to 20 min depending on the line, with a bus roughly every 15 min. Mèfi: the station is well below the old town, so do not climb with a bag.
  3. On to your workshopMolinard and Fragonard’s historic factory are in town, on foot. Galimard and Fragonard’s workshop are outside the old town: bus or taxi.

Still choosing where to stay? Our travel-time study compares the bases →

The museum: Musée International de la Parfumerie

The serious counterpart to the factory tours: the history of perfume, its raw materials and its bottles, at 2 boulevard du Jeu de Ballon. Open every day, 10:00 to 18:00, and until 19:00 in July and August. It closes on the first Monday of January, February, March, October, November and December.

The ticket is €10 (€7.50 reduced) and also covers the Bonnard Museum in Le Cannet within four days. Entry is free for under-18s, and for everyone on the first Sunday of the month from October to April. The museum’s gardens are in Mouans-Sartoux, a separate trip.

How long, and when?

Half a day from Cannes or Antibes: one workshop and the Fragonard factory. A full day from Nice: workshop, museum and lunch. Where to eat in Grasse →

The workshops and museums run all year. The flowers do not: roses in May, jasmine around 1 August. Grasse plus Saint-Paul plus Èze in one day is not a plan. It is a bus timetable.

Booking: book the workshop before you take the train. Sessions run at set times and the good slots go first in summer. Check the museum’s first-Monday closures in the off-season.

Our Grasse guide → · Find my base with Riviera Fit → · Grasse bus station ↗︎

Checked 16 October 2026

Sources checked