New Paris museum puts visitors on the trail of scents
La Grand Musée du Parfum avoids olfactory overload, using state-of-the-art technology to guide visitors through the history of perfumes and their production – and can help you identify the right scent for you
What was the first perfume known to mankind? How do master perfumers create their fragrances? What are their raw materials? How are smell and emotions connected?
Many of us who have browsed the perfume counters searching for a captivating fragrance must have asked such questions. However, a new museum in the capital of perfume, Paris, will unravel some of these mysteries.
This week, Le Grand Musée du Parfum opens in the City of Light, in what was formerly Christian Lacroix’s haute couture house.
In some respects, it is advances in modern exhibition design that have brought alive this sensory experience, making it imaginative, entertaining, educational and original – for how can you have a museum dedicated to perfume without being able to sniff some of the ingredients. Given the price of these raw materials, spritzing the room with pure rose absolue would be both costly and overwhelming.
