FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT : GRAND MUSÉE DU PARFUM
A Place for Perfume Le plaisir d’être mis au parfum
The world of perfume unfolds at Le Grand Musée du Parfum, a recent and fragrant addition to the Parisian cultural landscape. The museum is devoted to perfume and the art of perfume-making, one of France’s leading industries. Located in a beautiful private mansion, the museum takes the visitor on a historical and sensorial quest. The visit traces the history of perfume from Antiquity in Ancient Egypt to the present and offers a journey into the senses through a unique olfactory collection of 70 scents to smell along the way and introduces the visitor to the highly complex art of the perfumer. The visit is very interactive with videos and devices used to try out the fragrances and scents found along the way, which include many of the raw materials used in perfume-making. One of the more intriguing scents to discover is what is regarded as the very first perfume known to humanity, kyphi, created in Ancient Egypt. The museum also introduces the visitor to the extraordinary power of the sense of smell, a sense that remains little understood. Visitors can create their own tour notebook listing favourite smells while learning more about this sense through olfactory displays.
The museum also offers original, educational and fun workshops to comprehend the world of perfumes. Offerings include a discovery of the family of Cologne waters and finding out about the cultural evolutions between women and their perfumes from 1900 to the present day. And there are workshops geared for children and young adults as well, and events, exhibitions and a concept store, where you will be advised and guided towards a perfume corresponding to your favourite scents. 73 rue du Faubourg Saint-honoré (8th), 01 42 65 25 44 www.grandmuseeduparfum.fr