Galimard

Galimard says it was founded in Grasse in 1747 by Jean de Galimard, Lord of Seranon and a member of the guild of glove makers and perfumers. He supplied the court of Louis XV with olive oil, pomades and perfumes. The modern house grew from the Roux family. In 1950 Joseph Roux, a chemical engineer and the son of a flower grower, opened a distillery in Gourdon and revived the Galimard name with a perfumery in the old town. In 1965 he and his wife Marie-Jeanne opened a boutique on cours Honoré Cresp.

Their son Jean-Pierre Roux opened the Factory museum on the route de Cannes in 1980 to show visitors how Grasse perfume is made, and a second factory followed in Eze-Village in 1986. In 1996 Galimard opened its first Studio des Fragrances, where visitors sit at a perfumer's organ of 123 notes and compose a scent of their own.

In Grasse, the free guided tour of the Factory museum at 73 route de Cannes runs every day from 9:00, takes about an hour and passes an antique machinery museum. In town there is a shop at 22 cours Honoré Cresp and a second one on place aux Aires from May to October. The creation workshop at the Studio des Fragrances, 5 route de Pégomas, costs €65 a person with a 100 ml eau de parfum to take home. A 100 ml Napoléon 1815 eau de parfum costs €72. Try Princesse Pauline first: it is one of the house's best-selling scents for women and tells a Grasse story.