Molinard Perfumery
In 1849 Hyacinthe Molinard opened a shop in the heart of Grasse selling flower waters. His wealthy customers included Queen Victoria, and the waters soon sold well abroad, carrying French craftsmanship far beyond the town. Five generations of perfumers later, Molinard is still an independent French house and counts among the oldest perfumers in the world.
What you visit today is the Provençal bastide the house opened in the early 1900s, at the start of its industrial era, and still its headquarters. In the distillery, look up: the metal roof frame was designed by Gustave Eiffel. The site holds a factory laboratory, a museum with a collection of objects and curiosities, and a shop where a striking glass dome rises over a typically Provençal salon.
The house's signature is Habanita, created in 1921. It put vetiver, until then a note reserved for men, at the heart of a women's perfume, became a hit of the Roaring Twenties and is now the cult scent of the house. Riding that success, Molinard turned in the 1930s to master glassmakers such as René Lalique, Baccarat and J. Viard for its bottles, and those signed bottles are the reason to linger in the museum rooms.
Going in is worth it for anyone curious how perfume is made, and it costs nothing: the guided tour takes about 25 minutes and starts every 20 minutes, so the wait is short. If you want to go further, optional paid workshops let you compose your own fragrance with one of the house's experts.
From here the route sets off on the 810 m leg to Fragonard, about 12 minutes and the one real climb of the walk. On the way you pass the Fragonard Villa Museum.
- Local name
- Parfumerie Molinard
- Hours
- Oct–Mar: Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00 (also open Sun 10:00–18:00 during French school holidays); Apr–Jun & Sep: Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00; Jul–Aug: Mon–Sun 10:00–19:00
- Price
- Free guided tour (approx. 25 min, every 20 min); perfume creation workshops optional and fee-based
