© Parfumerie Molinard
© Parfumerie Molinard, Grasse
© Parfumerie Molinard
© Parfumerie Molinard
Parfumerie Molinard, Grasse
Guided tours & perfume workshops
Grasse is the world capital of perfumes. At this museum you can discover the ancient tradition of parfumerie and learn how to create your own, unique scent.
Grasse is world famous for its parfumeries, Molinard offers you the chance to visit an authentic French perfume factory. A guided tour will explain the techniques used to extract and blend scents, traditional methods of making soaps and fragrances and other secrets about the world of perfume.
Founded in 1849, Maison Molinard has remained a family-run business to our days. They initially produced floral waters and Eaux de Cologne, sold in a little shop in the village centre. In 1860 they started to create more exclusive fragrances using jasmine, rose and violets in delicate Baccarat crystal bottles.
Their international success started in the early 20th century, when they moved to a new distillery, designed by none other than Gustav Eiffel, and received lots of customers from Russia and England at their typical Provençal showroom.
They are the only parfumerie to have preserved their factory as it was in the olden days, allowing you to have an authentic experience. The museum also houses a magnificent collection of period furniture from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
They offer various workshops where you can make your own perfumes, and if you find your scent you can reorder it online any time you want.
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Worth knowing
Their number one perfume, "Habanita", was created in 1921 and marketed to perfume cigarettes. It is perhaps the oldest perfume around nowadays.
Visitor comments
- "The guided tour through their factory is a must see for tourists. It's amazing to know how complicated it is to make natural scents. Highly recommended." - Trip Advisor
- "I have always wanted to blend a perfume for myself. I made reservations before going to France on the Molinard website and spent a lovely afternoon learning how to and blending single notes to make my own fragrance. Oh, and when I was finished the shop with Molinard fragrances and gifts was wonderful for gift buying. A once in a life time experience and I got to take it home with me and can re-order the formula any time by contacting Molinard." - Trip Advisor
- "Other than the knowledge and history one will gather from this experience, you get to shop too! My children loved the tour and learnt how they used to produce perfume in the old days, don't think the process has changed that much ." - Trip Advisor
When to come
Parfumerie Molinard is open every day from 09:30 to 18:30, with late opening until 19:00 in July and August. The last guided tour of the day is at 17:30.
