9 Best Sights in The French Riviera, France

On a cliff top overlook at the Old Town's edge, this Romanesque cathedral contains no fewer than three paintings by Rubens, a triptych by the famed 15th-century Provençal painter Louis Bréa, and Lavement des Pieds (The Washing of the Feet) by the young Fragonard.

Built in 1782, this perfume factory is open to the public daily for free guided tours, and it has the best boutique: look for the Ma Fougassette (My Sweet Fougasse)—your home will have the wonderful scent of a Provence sweet, soft fougasse bread. Sign up for a do-it-yourself-perfume (DIYP) workshop for a more specialized memento of your visit.

Tracing its pedigree back to 1747, Galimard is one of the world's oldest perfume houses. Today, its factory is open to visitors 365 days a year, where for €58 you can create and name your own perfume in a two-hour workshop. They're held daily at 10, 2, and 4 in Galimard's Studio des Fragrances around the corner ( 5 rte. de Pegomas); for those with more time, try the Haute-Parfumerie workshops with your very own nez to accompany your creations and a decadent Champagne break.

Established in 1849, Molinard offers an extensive tour that includes visits to the Soap Factory, the Distillery (witness "the nose" at work concocting new fragrances), and the Cream Room, where the packaging team hand-labels each bottle or pump. For €30—and without a reservation—you can create your perfume in a few basic steps (20 minutes).

Just up from the Fragonard perfumery, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence is open daily and has a large collection of faience from the region, including works from the famous pottery towns of Moustiers, Biot, and Vallauris.

With its soaring structure of steel, glass, and teak, the MIP has long been one of the more sleekly spectacular museums along the coast. The contemporary design relies on color-coding to easily trace the 3,000-year history of perfume making (highlights include a fascinating collection of 4,000 antique perfume bottles). Artist contributions, like the "Eye Nose You" project that lets you discover details of the scented body through a photographic lens, add a living dimension to the museum.

Below the central cluster of museums and perfumeries, the picturesque Place aux Aires is lined with 17th- and 18th-century houses and their arcades. Every Saturday morning there's a small market selling produce and spices (the bigger market happens Wednesday 8–1, at Place du Cours Honoré Cresp).

Go down the steps to Rue Mirabeau and lose yourself in the dense labyrinth of the Vieille Ville, where steep, narrow streets, austere facades, discreet gardens, and random flights of stairs are thrown into shadow by shuttered houses five and six stories tall.

This museum headlines the work of Grasse's own Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), who was one of the great French "chocolate-box" artists—so called because they were known for their maudlin artwork of a type that was found on boxes of chocolate at the time. The lovely villa contains a collection of Fragonard's drawings, engravings, and paintings; also on display are works by his son, Alexandre-Evariste, and his grandson, Théophile.