Musée du Costume et du Bijou Provencal

The Musée du Costume et du Bijou Provençal sits in the heart of Grasse, often called the capital of eastern Provence. The town's history reaches back to the eleventh century. It carries the label of a city of art and history. Genoese and Provençal styles mix in its streets, with many houses dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when perfume brought prosperity. Inside, displays of dresses, headpieces and accessories trace what the people of Provence wore over the centuries.

Regional garments and folk clothing show how people dressed for daily life and for festivals. Coiffes, the traditional headdresses, evolved differently across regions, with Alsace and Catalonia among the examples shown. The jewellery collection spans everyday pieces and pieces made for special events. Materials and designs vary widely, and the craftsmanship is unique to this part of France. Together, the exhibits add up to a portrait of local identity and tradition.

The historic centre keeps its museums close together, many within walking distance. Nearby stand the International Perfume Museum, the Museum of Art and History of Provence and the Jean Honoré Fragonard Museum. You can also join guided tours of local perfume factories. The cathedral, the episcopal palace, old plazas and markets fill the same streets. Back inside, the arlésienne dress, fashionable in the eighteenth century, belongs to that same prosperous era.