ORBIS city intelligence

Buying in Grasse: The Raw Material, Not Just the Bottle

Grasse has been a perfume town since the sixteenth century, and the interesting door here is not a boutique. The town exists because of growers and extractors rather than shops, which is worth knowing before you plan a day.

Robertet: the ingredient house, at 37 avenue Sidi Brahim S1

Natural fragrance ingredients are the trade here, which is the raw-material end rather than the finished bottle. The address above is the confirmed one on this page.

Ask what is possible to see rather than assuming a retail visit. An ingredient house is closer to what Grasse actually is than any shop selling finished scent.

Atelier des Ors: gold leaf suspended in the juice S2

Haute perfumery combined with gold leaf is the signature here, which puts the house at the decorative end of the trade. Confirm the door before you travel out to it.

Ask how the gold behaves over time in the bottle. Ask about cabin restrictions on volume before buying, since perfume is limited in hand luggage.

A third Grasse entry, Grasse, World Capital of Perfume, covers the town's fragrance heritage rather than a door you can walk through. Treated as background it is useful, and treated as a shop it will cost you an afternoon.