A Sneak Peek at Paris's New Grand Musée du Parfum - Condé Nast Traveler

As you faites du lèche-vitrine (literally translated to "window lick," what the French call "window shopping") along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, you can now also explore a major new museum opening December 16: The Grand Musée du Parfum, directly across the street from another grande dame, Le Bristol Paris , isn't the first perfume museum in the city, but it is one of the most expansive, with high-tech sensory exhibits unlocking 60 different scents, designed to help you better understand the history of perfume as well as your own sense of smell. Exhibits tackle questions like: How do the industry’s top “noses” create scents? Why was the original Eau Sauvage by Edmond Roudnitska such a popular bestseller? How is smell linked to memory? The answers are inside the stately mansion that was once the residence of the Roederer Champagne family, and more recently, Christian Lacroix’s maison de couture. At the end of the visit, a robot will fetch the fragrance matching your olfactory profile in the museum's gorgeous store.

France is widely renowned as a fragrance capital, but until now the French perfume industry lacked an emblematic cultural venue in the capital. The other perfume-themed museums in Paris are operated by one brand, Fragonard, while the Grand Musée is supported by the Syndicat Français de la Parfumerie, an assembly of 66 different perfume houses. A panel of 16 industry experts oversees the Grand Musée: among them, Sylvaine Delacourte, Guerlain’s director of fragrance evaluation and development; Mathilde Laurent, Cartier’s perfume creator; and Jean-Claude Ellena, house perfumer at Hermès.

“Our ambition is to become a must-see attraction in Paris. We’ve created a concept museum—an experience all around the sense of smell,” director Sandra Armstrong told Condé Nast Traveler during an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the museum. “Telling the story of perfume is like telling the story of humanity.”

Perfume’s history dates back millennia to ancient Egypt, when burning incense was seen as a way to communicate with the gods. But it wasn’t until the glory days of Versailles, under Louis XIV, that perfume became an industry—and something specifically associated with France. The Sun King was so enraptured with fragrance, he reportedly went overboard and developed allergies; by the end of his life the only scent he could stand to be around was orange blossom. Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Josephine were also both fragrance connoisseurs; rose and musk both became fashionable scents because of Josephine's preferences for them.

Courtesy Grand Musée du Parfum

Visitors can learn about different scents and their significances.

Ascend the staircase to encounter the “Wall of Fame,” which showcases a legendary perfume from each year between 1921–2000. In the perfumer’s laboratory, learn how a master “nose” mixes ingredients to create elixirs. A specially commissioned artwork called the Perfume Organ uses sound and light to replicate the perfumer’s process. In the Garden of Scents, visitors can inhale whiffs emitted from human-sized flowers seemingly pulled from Wonderland—guaranteed fun for kids and adults. “In this day and age, we’re looking at our iPhones and screens all day long—a visual immersion,” said Sandra Armstrong. “In this iconic room, you’ll be able to close your eyes and focus on the olfactory sense, perhaps, for example, equating a smell with the memory of your grandmother’s house.”

One of the highlights of the Grand Musée is a partial reconstruction of one of the earliest perfumers, Houbigant, which was founded in 1775 at 19 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Period furniture, the cash register, and antique perfume bottles are on loan from the Musée Carnavalet, the Paris history museum in the Marais district.

Behind the historic mansion, the garden will be planted with aromatic plants and flowers specially cultivated for their scent: For example, the jasmine flower is famously composed of 900 molecular components. Later in 2017, a restaurant will open in this leafy space so you can linger a little longer in this fragrant world in the heart of Paris’s fashion district.

If you’re looking for a Louis XIV-style venue to throw a Paris party, the Grand Musée can host up to 300 people during private events. The best part? You can personalize your very own scent to waft through the mansion.

Tickets from €14.50 ($15). http://ift.tt/2bmnj2B

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