My sister and I both love perfume and I was wondering if there was a perfume producer near Nice (not Grasse, that%26#39;s just too far for us to do in the short time we will be staying in Nice) where we can see it being made and perhaps try/buy some products. I%26#39;d heard there was a Fragonard or Galimard in the area, but not sure if it%26#39;s still there. I know about the Molinard shop in Nice (Rus Saint Francois de Paul) but would prefer a working perfumery.
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The old Molinard factory in Grasse is now just a museum/boutique so even if you visited, there is no longer actual production at that facility; same for Fragonard in Grasse.
Fragonard however has a production facility in Eze just to the east of Nice. Perhaps that is sufficiently close for you to visit:
http://www.fragonard.com/@fr/1/3/28/article.asp
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I%26#39;ve been round the Fragonard factory in Eze and while it%26#39;s very pleasant you don%26#39;t get much insight into the way stuff is produced. You do get to spend your little all in the factory shop though, and that%26#39;s probably the main thing! You can get the bus to Eze from Nice, or the train to Eze by the sea and either walk (strenuous hillside walk, called the Nietzsche path, cos the philosopher Nietzsche used to walk up it philosophising, about 50 minutes with beautiful views and well worth doing if you are fit enough) up to Eze village or take the shuttle bus from the station up the hill. Eze is very close to Nice. I think there are other scent factories there too. For a longer journey you could go to Manosque where l%26#39;Occitane is based. I%26#39;ve just had a look at their website and though I can%26#39;t find anything about guided tours there is a factory shop in the town. NB Manosque is some distance from Nice, but might be worth a visit in itself.
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There are several perfume factories around Grasse, but you would need a car to get to them.
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I have been to the Eze shop (very nice). I thought there was a perfume factory in or near Nice, however. Must be mis-information!
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The Fragonard place in Eze describes itself as a %26#39;laboratory factory%26#39; so there may be some research/development/manufacturing function. We were there at a weekend, and there was no sign of work (apart from the shop which was busy separating tourists from money) though we could see workshops. http://www.fragonard.com/@en-us/1/3/9/article.asp
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Here%26#39;s some information from another site:
There are thirty major parfumeries in and around Grasse, most of them making not perfume but essences-plus-formulas which are then sold to Dior, Lancôme, Estée Lauder and the like, who make up their own brand-name perfumes. One litre of pure rose essence can cost as much as 125,000F/¬19,000; perfume contains twenty percent essence (eau de toilette and eau de Cologne considerably less). The major cost in this multi-billion-dollar business is marketing. The grand Parisian couturiers, whose clothes, on strictly cost-accounting grounds, serve simply to promote the perfume, go to inordinate lengths to sell their latest fragrance, spending hundreds of millions of francs a year on advertising alone.
The ingredients that the %26quot;nose%26quot; - as the creator of the perfume%26#39;s formula is known - has to play with include resins, roots, moss, beans, bark, civet (extract of cat genitals), ambergris (intestinal goo from whales), bits of beaver and musk from Tibetan goats. If that hasn%26#39;t put you off, you can visit the various showrooms , with overpoweringly fragrant shops and free guided tours, in English, of the traditional perfume factory set-up (the actual working industrial complexes are strictly out of bounds). These visits are free and usually open daily without interruption in summer; a few to choose from are Fragonard , 20 bd Fragonard; Galimard , 73 rte de Cannes; and Molinard at 60 bd Victor-Hugo ( www.molinard-parfums.com ).
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Diz my experience of the Fragonard factory was much the same. We went round on a weekday at midday and when we asked why none of the staff were visible in the factory the guide said in an outraged voice %26#39;But it%26#39;s LUNCHTIME!%26#39; What a great place to work!
The tour lasted 15 minutes or so and consisted mainly of descriptions of what is done rather than demonstrations. The smellies in the shop were absolutely divine, though!
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Thanks for all your suggestions, but these are all in Eze or Grasse which is too far for a short stay!! Is there one in Nice???
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Eze is only a very short distance from Nice. You could probably take a cab if you wanted to.
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Eze is actually only a 20 minute bus ride - superb views too. There is a timetable (only 2 years out of date!) at http://www.rca.tm.fr/ftp/lignes/LIGNE112.pdf
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