Musée du Parfum Fragonard

About the museum

The Musée du Parfum is located at 9 rue Scribe, near the Opéra Garnier. It opened in 1983 and presented itself as Paris’s first perfume museum. It belongs to the Fragonard house, a family perfumery founded in 1926 in Grasse.

The collections were begun in the 1950s by Jean-François Costa, who in the 1970s brought together his perfume objects to create several museums in Grasse and Paris. His three daughters, Anne, Agnès and Françoise Costa, now run the house and continue to enrich the collections through acquisitions.

The museum underwent long renovation and extension works. The route explains the stages of perfume making: raw materials, harvesting, extraction, distillation, formulation, industrialisation, bottling and the profession of the perfumer (the “nose”). A still room evokes an early 20th-century perfume factory.

The second part of the museum presents a collection of bottles and perfume objects from Egypt and Mesopotamia up to the 20th century: kohl pots, scent apples, incense burners, precious flacons and old labels. A scent room offers games to test your sense of smell, and a workshop welcomes visitors who book a perfume-creation activity.

Highlights

• Free admission and no reservation required
• Still room evoking an early 20th-century perfume factory
• Collection of bottles and perfume objects from antiquity to the 20th century
• Scent room and the game “Mon nez a du talent”
• Paid perfume-creation workshops

Permanent exhibition

• Parcours permanent du Musée du Parfum – From raw materials to the art of the nose, then a collection of bottles and perfume objects from antiquity to the 20th century.

Founded

1983

Operated by

Parfumerie Fragonard (entreprise familiale)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission and visit are free of charge, with no reservation needed. Perfume-creation workshops are paid (€29 to €95 per person depending on the format) and require online booking.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The historic building has no lift of its own for the museum. Visitors with reduced mobility can use the lift in the main staircase, which is outside the museum, provided they notify the museum by email 72 hours in advance.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

No age limit for the visit; children remain the responsibility of their parents. The scent game “Mon nez a du talent” is for everyone. Mini perfume-creation workshop from age 8 and eau de cologne workshop from age 12, with an accompanying adult who also pays for the workshop.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check: not available

Fragonard shop above the museum spaces. No cloakroom for visitors. Only small dogs carried in arms or in a bag are admitted.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit