A visit to Gourdon is most definitely worth the drive. You can take in the amazing views, visit all…read morethe wonderful shops (I always purchase the pure lavender essential oil) and dine in the restaurant overlooking the hills.

This village is perched up in the hills with all kinds of crafts shops and restaurants. It's…read morebasically a chateau and then some. Craft shops, perfumeries, art, souvenirs, food, and views of the portion of the region (distant cities and such). Two things you can't miss is an art gallery with sculptures and a crystal shop called Vetterie d'Art de Gourdon. This has a local famous crystal structure of Queen Victoria on a carriage when she visited Gourdon the same way over a century ago. The village has a tourism office at the other end of it overlooking the mountains so you can figure out what you want to do. Apart from the local businesses, it's predominantly a tourist area. As far as I know, there weren't any hotels or any other form of lodging there. It's mostly these artsy and hipster galleries and shops with a few local attractions. A lot of tours from big cities have a stop here if this is a place of interest for you.

Firstly, the tour was in both French and in English. We were a mixed group of nationalities so that…read morewas helpful. Inside the cave was chilly (about 15 degrees C) and the walls and floors were moist. My eleven year old had a hard time breathing because of a stuffy nose so we didn't the tour. Nice boutique for souvenirs.

My wife has been remind me before this trip that we got to visit this place. The reason she said…read morethat is because this the birth place or origin of the France perfume. Grasse is the capital of the perfume. This store is one of the oldest in France. Galimard has been a landmark or history of the perfume store in Grasse. You can make appointment to make your own perfume and smell the way you like. The appointment to make your own perfume will last two hours of process. You need to make this appointment one month early to secure your spot in their lab. They also has factory nearby that you can take a tour. The tour includes tour to their lab, ancient equipment, show room, and more. It was great to smell the fragrance during the tour. We did got a few bottles back home. There are three different types. The most pure it the oil base.

So I've never made my own perfume before but we were in the area & I'd had Galimard bookmarked…read moreforever so I took a chance & they had reservations available for the next day so we signed up The rooms take up to 30 people but Mr & I were the only people there so it was like a private class - score! Explaining how perfumes are made up of the base, heart & head notes, there seemed to be hundreds of bottles containing different smells We started with the base note & I chose my favorite 4, their expert chose the mixing amounts and e continued to build from there until I had my very own perfume Needs to macerate for the next 3 weeks but from what I can tell so far, I rocked this! I can't wait to wear my very own scent, designed and named by me! My formula is stored there so whenever I want to reorder or change to perfume, shower gel shampoo or whatever product they offer, I can get it in MY scent How awesome is that?!