Grasse is a town situated about 18 miles north of Canes in the
Cote d'Azur and is to be found in slightly hillier country towards the pre
Alps. It is quite a large town which sprawls down the mountain from
a lovely old cobbled centre, with a myriad of shops, restaurants, galleries and
squares where you can easily while away a few hours whilst people watching over
coffee and pastis or a glass of the local rose wine.
Its main claim to fame is as a production centre for perfume.
Two old perfume houses still operate here and both offer tours to show and
explain the production process. Galimard and
Fragonard are both well recognized names in the perfume world. The area
around Grasse supplies the flowers and most importantly the orange blossom
which provides the most often used basic substance in perfume. It is said
that it takes 1ooo kilos of blossom to make 1 kilo of the oil that is used.
In the old town there is the opportunity, should you so wish to
have a break from Provencal cooking, which as good as it is, to
allow local ex pats in need of a curry or a taste of something more spicy
occasionally. Grasse
serves that need with an Indian restaurant called Le Punjab(!) and very
close by is a Vietnamese restaurant, both are located on at atmospheric little
cobbled street in the old town, with Le Punjab also having a very pretty
enclosed terrace which is nice for lunch if you can face an Indian at lunch
time!
In 2005 the old Perfume Line railway was refurbished and
reopened as a passenger line. It was closed during the Second
World War and fell into disrepair, but now there are new
stations along the route and it is possible to get to central Cannes in
around 25 minutes, which opens up all the delights of that great town a to
anyone staying in or near Grasse, without the need to drive and battle with the
traffic and parking problems that can arise in high season.
Just 5 miles away is the lovely medieval village of
Valbonne, with a number of cobbled streets surrounding a central square
which is a glorious place to have lunch in the sunshine, even in January.
There is a lovely market that runs on a Friday morning which covers many
of the pretty side streets and most of the square and is very
popular with the locals and the big ex pat community that lives around
Valbonne.
Golf is available just to the north at the Grasse Country Club
sometimes known as Clause Amic, but the fairways are narrow, so a good golfer would probably
prefer either the course at Chateau Begude aka
Opio/Valbonne or the Grande Bastide at nearby Plascassier.
Walking around the hills of Grasse of to be recommended,
particularly over towards Gurdon, where a great number of tough walks are
signposted, and where the views are particularly stunning. In winter the
nearest skiing is a mere 35 minutes drive, so it is possible to have a
little ski and then get to Cannes
for a late lunch on the beach.
Getting to Grasse is fairly simple. I have
mentioned the railway, but beware the station is at the bottom of the hill
and the town at the top! By car it is well-marked at Junction 42 of the A8 where there is
a dual carriageway known as the Penetrante which takes you directly
to the town. Nearest airport is Nice about 30 minutes drive, with
flights there going to most European cities, all 4 London airports, and even Montreal,
Moscow and New York, mostly on a daily basis.
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