Grasse

Town near Cannes in the département of Alpes-Maritimes in southeast France, situated 200–400 m/650–1,300 ft above sea level on a hillside overlooking the Mediterranean; population (1990) 42,100, conurbation 335,000. The town is a holiday resort and is the centre of a perfume-manufacturing region, flowers being grown on a large scale for this purpose. Olives and oranges are also grown here.

The town has an 11th-century Gothic cathedral containing three paintings by Rubens and one by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, who was born here in 1732. There is a statue of him in the town, and the nearby 17th-century Villa Fragonard has been converted to a museum; it contains some of his work. Grasse originally prospered around the tanning industry. The perfume industry developed because of the 16th-century fashion for scented gloves.