Montpellier honors its olfactory heritage with "les chemins du parfum" (perfume trails)

[Press release] - Published on May 26, 2025 in Press Corner, Science-Society

Through Les chemins du parfum, Montpellier highlights the richness of its olfactory heritage with a unique cultural and sensory encounter from June 19 to 21, 2025. Led by Marc and Valérie Chaouat, the event is co-organized with the University of Montpellier, under the patronage of the Société française des parfumeurs, with the essential support of the City and Metropolis of Montpellier.

The origins of perfume: Montpellier reawakens its olfactory heritage

For more than five centuries, Montpellier has been a mecca for the perfume industry, playing an essential role in the development of this discipline at the crossroads of art and science. Its status as the ancestral capital of perfume is based on an exceptional heritage: a prestigious medical school active since the Middle Ages, a pioneering plant garden in France, flourishing spice trading posts, and the first alcohol-based perfume in history, eau de la reine de Hongrie. These unique conditions saw the emergence of a generation of apothecary-parfumers, the apothecary-parfumers of the French royal houses, true precursors of refined olfactory savoir-faire. Today, this heritage continues to irrigate Montpellier's teaching and research, particularly in the fields of fragrance ingredients and green chemistry, where it forms a living foundation for new forms of creation, between eco-responsible innovation and the transmission of know-how. Les chemins du parfum revives this memory by inviting the public on an immersive exploration where scents, sounds and colors interact in an exceptional heritage setting.

Encounters, creations and discoveries

For three days, the event offers a sensory, scientific and artistic immersion through conferences, meetings, workshops and creative moments. For the first time in Montpellier, this unique event brings together professionals, researchers, apprentice perfumers, artists and historians to offer a true panorama of the world of perfume, between tradition and innovation.

The highlight of the event will be Jean-Benoît Patricot's play DARIUS, presented in the main courtyard of the Faculty of Medicine. A true olfactory voyage of sensibility, the show will close with a series of scent-based activities created by undergraduate (LProPAC) and graduate (ICAP) students from the Faculty of Science. The program also includes round-table discussions, off-site guided tours, sensory walks and a symphony concert.

Access to daytime activities is free, while some creative workshops and the performance of DARIUS are ticketed.