Grasse

     I will tell you about amazing place that is Grasse, french. The town is considered the world's capital of perfume. It obtained two flowers in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris contest and was made "Ville d'Art et d'Histoire" (town of art and history).

1) Main sights

    Grasse's main attraction is the Cathedral, dedicated to Notre Dame du Puy and founded in the 11th century. In the interior, are three works by Rubens and one by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, a French painter native of the town.

Other sights include:

1. Saracen Tower, standing at 30m.

2. Monumental gate of the Hôtel de ville

3. International Museum of Perfume

4. Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence

5. Church of Plascassier, built in 1644

2) Festivals

        There is an annual Fête du Jasmin or La Jasminade, at the beginning of August. The first festival was on Aug.3-4, 1946. Decorated floats drive through the town, with young women in skimpy costumes on board, throwing flowers into the crowd. This is known as the 'flower battle' and everyone gets soaked by the natural perfume of the flowers. There are also fireworks, free parties, folk music groups and street performers. There is also an annual international exhibition of roses ("Expo Rose").

3) Transport

       The Gare de Grasse railway station offers connections with Cannes, Nice and Ventimiglia.

4) Grasse was the birthplace of:

1. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, painter

2. Marcel Journet, great operatic baritone

3. Gazan de la Peyrière, general who fought under Napoleon

4. Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard, painter and sculptor

5. Charles Pasqua, businessman and politician

6. Michèle Mouton, rally driver

7. Thomas Pinault, professional footballer

8. Albert Charpin, painter

9. Jean-Claude Ellena, perfumer

10. Pierre Preville, racing driver

5) Perfume

       Grasse has had a prospering perfume industry since the end of the 18th century. Grasse is the centre of the French perfume industry and is known as the world's perfume capital (la capitale mondiale des parfums).Many "noses" (or, in French, "Les nez" (plural)/"Le nez" (singular)) are trained or have spent time in Grasse to distinguish over 2,000 kinds of scent. Grasse produces over two-thirds of France's natural aromas (for perfume and for food flavourings). This industry turns over more than 600 million euros a year.

       Jasmine, a key ingredient of many perfumes, was brought to southern France by the Moors in the 16th century.Twenty-seven tonnes of jasmine are now harvested in Grasse annually. There are numerous old 'parfumeries' in Grasse, such as Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard, each with tours and a museum.

                                                                   Galimard grasse

                                                                     Molinard grasse

                                                                    Fragonard grasse

           The countryside around the city began to grow fields of flowers, offering new scents from the city. In 1614, the king recognized the new corporation of "glovers perfumers". In the middle of the eighteenth century, the perfumery was experiencing a very important development. Leading companies dating from this period includes oldest French perfumerie and third oldest parfumerie in Europe Galimard established in 1747. Introduction of new production methods turned perfume making into a real industry that could adapt to new market demands.