On quaint old-town streets and up cobbled alleys in hilltop villages you'll be bathed in the aroma of soaps and potpourris wafting out of souvenir shops. The Riviera makes the most of the flowers, especially lavender, proliferating in its sun-favored climate.
The village of Grasse is known for perfume - bottled scents are made from the flowers on neighboring hillsides, then funneled into industrial-looking vials in its tourist-friendly factories.
The most prestigious makers of Provencal fabrics have prominent spots in the main tourist centers.
Moustiers (by the Gorges du Verdon) still makes and sells its acclaimed faïence (glazed earthenware), as it has since the 17th century. Sculpture, glass, and contemporary art are sold in galleries lining the streets of St-Paul, and glass and ceramics dominate the shops in two hill villages outside Antibes: Biot and Vallauris. Biot is home to the extremely popular and sought-after colored glassware that bears its name - La Verrerie de Biot.
Shopping neighbourhoods
Rue d’Antibes is Cannes's main shopping drag, where you can find every kind of clothing and shoe shop imaginable, as well as mouthwatering candy, fabric, and home-design stores.
Rue Meynadier, which once formed the main street of Cannes, is a lively pedestrian shopping street packed with trendy clothing boutiques, food and wine shops, and some of the best butchers in town.
Nice's main shopping street, Avenue Jean-Medecin, runs inland from place Massena; all needs and most tastes are catered to in its big department stores (galeries Lafayette, Prisunic, and the split-level Etoile mall).
The Place des Lices in St-Tropez overflows with produce and regional foods, as well as clothing and brocantes, every Tuesday and Saturday morning.
Rue Sibilli, behind the quai Suffren in St-Tropez, is lined with all kinds of trendy boutiques, many featuring all-important sunglasses.
Jewelry
Feffet (Gray d'Albion, Cannes, PHONE: 04-93-68-49-75), in Cannes, sells fine jewelry and watches.
Perfume
At Galimard (73 rte. de Cannes, Grasse, PHONE: 04-93-09-20-00) you can design your own scent (200 frs/EUR30, by reservation only).
Molinard (60 bd. Victor-Hugo, Grasse, PHONE: 04-93-36-01-62) offers 90-minute workshops for visitors to blend their own scents (200 frs/EUR30 per person, reserve in advance).
Food
Olive oil by the gallon, in cans sporting colorful old-fashioned labels, is sold at tiny Alziari (14 rue St-Francois-de-Paule, Nice, PHONE: 04-93-85-76-92). Tapenade, pistou, and olive-wood doodads are also sold here.
The venerable old Henri Auer (7 rue St-Francois-de-Paule, Nice, PHONE: 04-93-85-77-98) has sold its beautiful selection of crystallized fruit, a Nice specialty, since 1820.
Confiserie du Vieux Nice (14 quai Papacino, Nice, PHONE: 04-93-55-43-50), on the west side of the port, sells crystallized fruit.
Books
On the first and third Saturday of each month, an array of old books, posters, and postcards is sold at the Marche du Livre Ancien et des Vieux Papiers. pl. de la Justice, Cannes).
Cannes English Bookshop (11 rue Bivouac Napoleon, Cannes, PHONE: 04-93-99-40-08) sells English-language books.
