1. Grasse
A short drive from the bustling coast, the French Riviera’s perfume capital was originally a centre for (far less pleasant-smelling) leather tanneries until someone had the bright idea of selling scented gloves here sometime in the seventeenth century. Nowadays, this pretty town, with its jumble of medieval and Renaissance buildings surrounded by endless fields of purple lavender, is home to no less than 30 perfume factories.
Time out tip: Get in touch with the big perfume factories – from Galimard to Molinard and Fragonard – which offer free tours of their sweet-scented workshops.