Grasse, the Perfume Country Above the Coast
A tailor-made, chauffeur-driven tour of Grasse from the Riviera: the great perfume houses, a workshop where you compose your own scent, and the hill villages behind the coast.
The DBS EXPERIENCE Standard
A private chauffeur tour of Grasse is a day in the hills above the Riviera, in the town that turned from tanning leather to distilling flowers in the sixteenth century and has been the capital of perfume ever since. The skills of the Pays de Grasse perfumers, growing the flowers, extracting the scent and composing the fragrance, were inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2018. Grasse sits roughly forty minutes above Nice and half an hour above Cannes, so the day is built around where you are staying on the coast rather than around Paris. Your chauffeur takes the climb up from the sea, waits through the guided visits at the great houses and the workshop where you blend your own scent, and links the town to the villages behind it before bringing you back down for the evening.
What this is
A tailor-made, chauffeur-driven tour of Grasse and the perfume country, in Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover vehicles, from your hotel, villa or yacht on the Riviera.
What you get
Guided visits at the perfume houses, a workshop booked in advance, the hill villages behind Grasse, a table arranged, and one point of contact for the day.
What to do next
Send your dates, your party size and where you are staying on the coast, and receive a structured itinerary with the houses, the workshop and the villages, usually within the working day.
Why you can trust it
Founded in 2009, 25,000+ journeys, 98.9% on-time, Transport Licence No. EVTC075180190, issued by the French Ministry of Transport, rated 4.9/5 across 82 verified reviews.
Who we serve
A rewarding day in Grasse is quiet work behind the scenes: a workshop reserved before it fills, the houses visited in the right order, a table held in a village, and a chauffeur who knows the climb from the coast and the roads behind the town. Our role is to carry all of it, so the guest simply arrives and breathes. We partner most closely with four profiles.
Five-Star Hotels & Concierges
A brand-aligned partner for the palaces of Cannes, Nice, Antibes and Monaco, with multilingual chauffeurs, last-minute availability and workshops reserved discreetly, so the concierge offers Grasse as a finished day rather than a suggestion.
Yacht & Villa Guests
Collection from the quay at Antibes, Cannes or Monaco, or from a villa in the hills, with a chauffeur who holds the day at your pace and returns you whenever the afternoon ends, confidentiality as a matter of course.
Private Aviation & FBO
For guests arriving at Nice Côte d'Azur or Cannes-Mandelieu, a planeside pickup coordinated with the flight, the day in the perfume country, and the return to the aircraft timed to the schedule.
Destination Management Companies
A reliable ground partner for bespoke Riviera programmes and incentive days, with consistent standards, workshop coordination for a group and white-label discretion that reduce your operational risk.
What This Service Includes
The Perfume Country, Curated Around You
From the stills of the great houses to the flower fields and the villages above them, every part of a day in Grasse is below, chauffeur-driven and arranged in advance. The town has made perfume for four centuries, and the craft that surrounds it, the growing, the extraction and the composition, is what UNESCO recognised in 2018. Beyond it, see our private tours and day trips.
The Great Perfume Houses
Guided visits at Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard, the three houses that have shaped Grasse, from the stills and the extraction rooms to the organ of raw materials where a fragrance is composed.
Compose Your Own Scent
A workshop with a perfumer, blending essences into a fragrance that is yours and kept on file at the house. Places fill quickly in season, so we book them well before the day.
The Musée International de la Parfumerie
Three thousand years of perfume in one collection, from Egyptian vessels to the flacons of the twentieth century, with the gardens that grow the raw materials below the town.
The Old Town & Its Art
The stepped lanes of the old tanners' quarter, the cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Puy with its Rubens paintings, and the Villa-Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard, birthplace of the painter.
The Flower Fields & Hill Villages
The rose fields in May and the jasmine of late summer when the season allows, and the villages behind the town: Gourdon on its cliff, Valbonne, Opio, and the Gorges du Loup.
From the Coast and Back
Collection at your hotel, villa, the quay or the FBO in Cannes, Nice, Antibes or Monaco, with the return timed to your evening rather than to a fixed hour.
The DBS Difference
What a Day in the Perfume Country Asks For
A private chauffeur tour of Grasse is a day in the hills above the Riviera, in the town that turned from tanning leather to distilling flowers in the sixteenth century and has been the capital of perfume ever since. The skills of the Pays de Grasse perfumers, growing the flowers, extracting the scent and composing the fragrance, were inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2018. Grasse sits roughly forty minutes above Nice and half an hour above Cannes, so the day is built around where you are staying on the coast rather than around Paris. Your chauffeur takes the climb up from the sea, waits through the guided visits at the great houses and the workshop where you blend your own scent, and links the town to the villages behind it before bringing you back down for the evening.
Booked Before It Fills
Guided visits and perfume workshops reserved well in advance, particularly through the summer, so the centrepiece of the day is secured rather than hoped for.
The Roads Above the Coast
Chauffeurs who know the climb from the sea and the narrow roads behind Grasse, so the drive between the town and the villages is part of the day rather than an ordeal.
Sequenced, Not Rushed
The houses, the museum and the workshop placed in an order that works, with a table held in the old town or a village, so nothing is taken at a run.
Honest About the Season
The May rose and the late-summer jasmine are short seasons, and the fields are working farmland. We tell you what is actually in flower on your dates rather than promising a picture.
Duty of care and full cover.
Transport Licence No. EVTC075180190, issued by the French Ministry of Transport, with comprehensive passenger insurance.
One Contact, Around the Clock
A single operations contact for the whole day and a 24/7 desk with a response time within the hour for any change along the way.
The fleet
A fleet of 25-plus vehicles, kept immaculate and renewed regularly. We match the vehicle to your party, so the day between the estates and the return, with your cases aboard, are a moment of rest. Fares are confirmed in advance against your itinerary.
Executive Sedan
Mercedes-Benz Classe E
Up to 3 passengers · 3 cases. A discreet, efficient choice for individual and business arrivals.
Group & Family
Mercedes-Benz V-Class XL
Up to 7 passengers · generous luggage. Space for families and small teams with substantial cases.
Luxury Flagship
Mercedes-Benz S-Class LWB
Up to 3 passengers · 3 cases. Long-wheelbase comfort for executives stepping off a TGV or Eurostar.
Luxury SUV
Range Rover Vogue Autobiography LWB
Up to 3 passengers · ample luggage. Commanding presence with elevated comfort.
How It Works
From First Idea to Final Drop-Off, in Four Steps
Share Your Dates
Tell us your dates, your party size and where you are staying on the coast. We advise on the houses, the workshop and how much of the hinterland a day allows.
We Book the Day
We reserve the guided visits and the workshop, hold a table, match the vehicle to your party and brief your chauffeur on the day's order.
We Drive the Hills
Your chauffeur collects you on the coast, takes the climb to Grasse, waits through each visit and links the villages, holding the day at your pace.
Back Down for the Evening
Returned to your hotel, villa or the quay whenever the afternoon ends, with whatever you have bought aboard and one contact throughout.
In practice
How DBS EXPERIENCE Works in Real Life
A Palace Concierge in Cannes
A concierge arranges a day in Grasse for two hotel guests. We collect them mid-morning, reserve a guided visit and a workshop at one of the houses, hold lunch in the old town, take Gourdon and the Gorges du Loup in the afternoon, and return them to Cannes before dinner.
A Yacht at Anchor in Antibes
Guests come ashore for the day. We collect at the quay, run the museum and two houses with a workshop between them, keep the schedule flexible around the tender, and have them back at the port when they ask, discreetly and without a fixed return hour.
A Family Staying Above Nice
A family with children want the workshop rather than the full circuit. We book a family session at a house, keep the morning short, take a village lunch and the flower fields when the season allows, and are back at the villa by the afternoon.
Authority
Why Travellers Choose DBS EXPERIENCE
In Summary
DBS EXPERIENCE is a Paris-based private chauffeur service founded in 2009, providing tailor-made, chauffeur-driven tours of Grasse and the perfume country from the French Riviera, from the great houses and the Musée International de la Parfumerie to the hill villages behind the town, with visits and workshops reserved in advance. From its base at 320 rue Saint-Honoré, it runs 25-plus vehicles and 30-plus bilingual chauffeurs, 24/7, with 98.9% punctuality over 25,000-plus journeys.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you collect from, and is Grasse a full day?
We collect from wherever you are on the coast: a hotel in Cannes, Nice, Antibes or Monaco, a villa in the hills, the quay, or the FBO at Nice Côte d'Azur or Cannes-Mandelieu. Grasse is roughly half an hour above Cannes and forty minutes above Nice. The town, one or two houses and a workshop make a comfortable full day with lunch; adding the villages and the Gorges du Loup fills it properly.
Can you book a perfume workshop, and how far ahead?
Yes, and it is worth doing early. The workshops at the great houses are the centrepiece of most Grasse days and they fill weeks ahead through the summer and around the festivals on the coast. We reserve yours when you confirm the date, in the language you prefer, and we will tell you honestly if a date is already gone rather than proposing a substitute you did not ask for.
Can we see the flower fields?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on when you come. The May rose flowers for a few weeks in spring and the jasmine in late summer, and the fields are working farmland rather than an attraction with opening hours. When the season is right we build the drive to take them in; when it is not, we say so in advance instead of leaving you to discover bare rows.
Can you combine Grasse with the rest of the Riviera?
Yes, and many guests do. A morning in Grasse pairs naturally with Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Valbonne or the Gorges du Loup, and across several days we link the perfume country to Monaco, Saint-Tropez and the coast road, keeping the same chauffeur and vehicle throughout so nothing is re-explained each morning.
Do you offer electric or hybrid vehicles for a day in the hills?
Yes. Hybrid and electric options are available on request within our fleet of 25-plus vehicles, where the itinerary allows, so a day between the coast and the perfume country can be made with a lighter footprint while keeping an executive standard throughout.
Tell Us Your Dates, Receive a Structured Itinerary
Share your dates, your party size and where you are staying, and our team returns a tailor-made itinerary with the houses, the workshop, the villages and one named contact for the day. For the wider coast, see our French Riviera chauffeur service.