We're taking another daytrip in the French Riviera along the Côte d'Azur visiting the
historic town of Grasse, another charming place in the hills of Provence.
Arriving by public bus – it's very convenient.
Within a few minutes of getting off the bus you'll find yourself walking down the main
street.
It's rue Jean Ossola, it changes names a few times
and very typical of the small, old historic towns in Provence and throughout France.
You got your several main pedestrian lanes and then the little side alleys that reach
off from it.
And most of the shops and cafés in Grasse seem to be right along that main single lane.
You'll have a variety of different kinds of shops here – mostly it's for the locals,
although obviously tourism is important to Grasse but even more important is the perfume
industry – there are a lot of perfume shops and we'll take you in some of those later.
If you'd rather look at antiques are clothing, it's all available.
The old town section with its pedestrian zone is only about 1 km wide and it's a bit hilly,
there are a few steps here and there – but you can easily see it in a couple of hours.
We'll Show you on a map of the Old Town a basic route that you might take, just walking
along the main lane and uphill to the main square and then back down again to see the
old Cathedral, and then up to another square, and then just go wander.
You don't really need a map here, just follow your nose and look around and take whatever
lane looks interesting.
This café, Le Croissant Rose, occupies the central spot in the old town right on the
main pedestrian lane with some busy side lanes nearby.
This is a place to hang out if you just want to kick back, get a sandwich, get a coffee
or a drink and watch the passing parade.
The old town of Grasse is similar to the old towns that we've seen already in our journey.
Quite a few of these little squares where you can sit down for a coffee.
The narrow pedestrian lanes lead throughout this little village and of course there are
some very interesting shops here, and just a nice place to take a walk, and it too is
quite small.
More of the Provençal ceramics, yellow and green colors in floral patterns typical of
the area – a nice purchase to bring home, if a little bit fragile, but you can pack
it well.
One of the great sports in France is windowshopping or as they say window licking and sometimes
you'll get lucky and see a shopgirl rearranging the display, putting on a little performance.
As described in Wikipedia, 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.
Many skilled "noses" 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 also for food
flavourings.
An ideal travel gift – unique from the area and easy to pack.
Statue of Fragonard, the great French painter, who was from the town of
Grasse and his name has been adopted by the major perfume company, Fragonard Perfumes,
and they have a whole variety of soaps and lotions and fragrances -- the main industry
of the city supported by the flower fields that grow for miles around the town of Grasse.
This 17th century bronze statue of perfume peddler has become one of the symbols of Fragonard
Perfumes.
The particular microclimate here encouraged the flower farming industry.
It is warm and sufficiently inland to be sheltered from the sea air.
There is an abundance of water, thanks to the situation in the hills and a canal back
in 1860 for irrigation purposes 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 open to the public and a museum.
The old town is just about a half a mile wide and it is on a hill, so there are quite a
few of these staircase streets which are very interesting to walk on – it's not that steep.
So there's yet another advantage of visiting the town of Grasse – you get a little workout
while you're here, and this is true of many of these beautiful little hill towns in the
South of France.
You do have to put in a little bit of effort, but that's why they're so picturesque.
The hills add a wonderful charm.
And soon enough you'll be walking back on the level again – here and there in the
smaller side alleys with yet more shops, there are cafés tucked away, and we are heading
eventually to the main square of town.
Our visit took place at midday in early afternoon, and you notice some of the shops are closed.
They observe siesta here in the South of France, shutting down for a couple of hours to take
a lunch break, although many shops stay open throughout the day.
It's always intriguing in these pedestrian zones to walk through the sidewalk tunnels,
it gives you that feeling of great antiquity, it feels like you're almost back in the Middle
Ages, and reminds you that these are fairly densely populated little villages – you've
got people living upstairs and shopping and working downstairs.
And there's a handful of little outdoor vegetable produce stands outside the food markets.
And then as you come around the bend it opens up into the main square of town, Place aux
Aires.
It's a few blocks away from the main lane, so you do have to look for it.
The Place aux Aires is a great spot.
It's got this arcaded loggia along the side of it, a beautiful fountain anchoring one
end and some lovely trees growing, and shops and cafés and comfortable places to sit and
rest and watch the people go by.
This Place aux Aires is certainly the main largest public gathering place in town, aside
from that main busy pedestrian lane.
It's a typical example of a pretty, Provençal village square.
An outdoor market is held here every Saturday morning from about 8 AM until 2 PM usually
with maybe 20 stalls at the market where they sell fruits and vegetables of the area, along
with clothes and household utensils, and miscellaneous items like fabrics, and curtains and various
stuff.
It is a typical market, so if you go on a Saturday morning on it can be and interesting
an entertaining way to spend some time.
No market on the day we were visiting but coming up in a few minutes, we will take you
to another square in town the Place aux Herbes, and they have a little daily market.
From Place aux Aires you go back down the steps to continue your explorations, past
the main street, heading down to the Cathedral.
Called the Cathedral Notre Dame DePuy this was built as far back as the 13th century
when the Bishop moved here from Antibes.
Look how ancient the interior is, it looks like it was carved out of a rock cave.
But it is a grand example of the Romanesque and Gothic styles combined together.
There are no buttresses outside and so the walls are quite thick, about 2 meters, and
the windows are quite small.
The Old Town portion of Grasse is very picturesque and filled with interest.
It's winding lanes are steep and narrow with tall houses along both sides of the place
is full of shadows and mystery.
The streets ramble and curve about in that leisurely manner which is characteristic of
Grasse and many other of the hill towns of Provence.
The visitor wandering through Grasse is likely, after walking its many streets, to find himself
in the exact spot where he started.
Now we have arrived at someplace different the other main square of town hosting an outdoor
food market the Place aux Herbes.
Today it's a small group of kiosks with their fruits and vegetables and other days there
is more on offer.
And there's also a parking lot underneath if you drove your car here, but more likely
you're walking, and got here by bus as we did, and you'll be leaving soon by the same
public bus.
This whole village looks like a Romanesque kind of a stone structure, intricate maze
and alleyway intersections here, going left and right.
You don't have to worry about getting lost -- it's so small you just walk around.
You could follow a map if you wish.
A little history as we walk along from an early time over 1000 years ago Grasse was
an industrious and commercial town.
It thus became rich and its wealth brought upon it frequent attacks from the Saracens.
Before the perfume industry, the main trade here was in leather and tanning work which
developed during the twelfth century around the small canal that runs through the city.
However this activity produced horribly, strong awful odor.
At the time of the Renaissance perfume manufacturers began production of gloves, handbags and belts,
to meet the new fashion from Italy with the entourage of Queen Catherine de Medici.
Accordingly countryside around the city began to grow fields of flowers, offering new scents
from the city.
In 1614, the French king recognized this corporation of "glovers perfumers".
In the middle of the eighteenth century, the perfumery experienced a major expansion with
introduction of new production methods that turned perfume making into a real industry
which could adapt to new market demands.
The modern perfume industry is still going strong.
A network of sixty perfume companies employs 3,500 people in the city and surrounding area.
Additionally about 10,000 residents of Grasse are indirectly employed by this perfume industry.
Almost half of the business tax for the city comes from the perfume sector which is even
ahead of tourism and other services.
We're back on the public bus continuing our explorations of Provence, all of which you
can find on our YouTube channel.
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