This Paris Museum Smells As Great As It Looks
Paris has long been the center of the perfume industry, and it now has a museum where scent lovers can learn about the history of their favorite products. Originally opened in 1983, the Musée du Parfum has completed a renovation and reopened as the Fragonard Musée du Parfum. The museum is located in a 19th-century townhouse in the chic 9th Arrondissement, just around the corner from the Palais Garnier. It gives an inside look on exactly how perfumes are made and features many tools of the trade, including a dramatic “perfume organ,” a row of bottles and ingredients whose shape resembles a church organ.
The newly spiffed-up Fragonard Museum was the brainchild of Agnes Costa Webster, whose great-grandfather founded the company. “France is reputed for perfume, so our aim is to share the treasures we have accumulated,” she told the Associated Press. Webster went into her family’s private archives to pull out items like distillers, vintage bottles, and old photographs that have previously never been displayed.
Fragonard also has a large museum in Grasse, where many of its perfumes are made and some of its ingredients, like lavender and rose, are sourced.
Fragonard, one of the country’s most legendary fragrance-makers, has its very own museum in France’s capital.