Grasse
France
The perfume town on the hill above Cannes, still growing roses and jasmine for the bottles, and a cheaper base for the Riviera’s back country
Photo by Roxana Crusemire on Unsplash
Photos by Joost Crop, Parker Moses, Aurélia Dubois and Guilhem Dupit on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to June, and August to October — the rose harvest is in late spring and the jasmine from late summer into autumn
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 145mm in Nov
Where it is
43.66°N, 6.92°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A long weekend- Take the free factory tour first, then the museum, which explains what the tour sold you
- Book a perfume workshop ahead, especially in summer
- Drive up to Gourdon for the view down to the sea, then back through the Gorges du Loup
- Come for the jasmine festival in early August if you can find a room
- Stay here rather than on the coast if you have a car and want a pool for less
Grasse travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeCards everywhere. Grasse is a working town rather than a resort, and both rooms and lunch cost noticeably less than on the coast twenty kilometres away. Refuse the conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your own currency.
ATMs & cards
Bank machines around the Place aux Aires and the Boulevard du Jeu de Ballon. Avoid the independent machines that offer to convert.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to convert to your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- Société Générale
- BNP Paribas
- Caisse d’Épargne
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeA quiet town with little crime against visitors. Parts of the old town have seen better days and its lanes are empty after dark, which is atmosphere rather than threat. The hazards are the roads: narrow hairpins up to Gourdon and down the Gorges du Loup, and summer wildfire closures of the wooded hills on high-risk days.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the road to Gourdon and the Gorges du Loup — narrow hairpins with cyclists and motorbikes on every bend at weekends
- The wooded hills in high summer, which the prefecture closes to walkers on high wildfire-risk days
- the walk up from the station — short but steep, and hard with luggage; take a taxi or the bus up
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodEat in the old town or out at Mougins, ten minutes away, which has the reputation and the prices. The fougassette, a sweet orange-flower bread, is the local thing from the bakeries. The perfume houses fill the afternoon: most offer workshops where you make a scent to take home, and they need booking.
Travel tipsGetting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Grasse
No Holistay rentals in Grasse yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Grasse on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Nice Côte d’Azur NCE
45 minfrom the airport· 24 km as the crow flies
About 45 min door to door by road.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
