Experience the best of Grasse

Grasse climbs a hillside in the Alpes-Maritimes, high enough above the Mediterranean to enjoy cooler air and a view over the coast. The town turned from leather and gloves to perfume in the eighteenth century, drawn by the flowers grown on the slopes: jasmine, the May rose and tuberose. UNESCO has recognised the local perfumers' skills. The International Perfume Museum traces the story from ancient times.

The old town's narrow lanes lead to Place aux Aires, an arcaded square with a market, and to the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy, which holds paintings attributed to Rubens and a religious work by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, who was born in the town. The Gorges du Loup, hill villages such as Gourdon, and the coast at Cannes are all close.

Flowers from the area flavour sweets and syrups, orange-flower water appears in local pastries, and Provençal staples such as socca, ratatouille and fougasse fill the cafés. The May rose is picked in spring, and the jasmine harvest follows from late summer into autumn.