I’ve built entire trips around a single perfume counter – and I’m not afraid to admit it. For fragrance lovers like me, sniffing your way round the world isn’t a side quest. It’s the whole point of going in the first place. This way of travelling has a proper name these days: fragrance tourism, AKA the art of travelling specifically to sniff, buy and immerse yourself in scent. In fact, Market Intelo projects that the ‘perfume tourism’ market will grow from $1.2 billion in 2025 to $2.8 billion by 2034 as more people than ever plan their fragrance-inspired visits the way they may once have once done so around a museum exhibition or sporting event.
The places worth seeking out don’t just ‘sell’ perfume. Often they’re preserving the frescoed ceilings, family ledgers and the fragrance culture of their locales, housing antique bottles in rooms that feel almost museum-like. If you’re chasing rare, unique scents, this is where you’ll find them – many must-visit fragrance stores sell exclusives you can’t buy elsewhere. Plus there’s the chance to see a fragrance being made or learn an ingredient’s story in a way no standard shop shelf can offer.
Scent also has a strange power to lodge memories in place, thanks to how closely the brain wires smell to memory. In short, it makes sense to buy something perfumed on your trip to evoke that feeling with a single spritz back home. “Every time I’m in Paris, I pick up a exclusive boutique candle at Maison Diptyque that you can’t get anywhere else in the world,” says fragrance expert and author of The Philosophy of Perfume, Alice Du Parq. “Treating yourself to a new fragrance or candle on holiday creates such a beautiful souvenir and sensorial joy that will bring you back to that gorgeous vacation moment again and again.”
If I’m honest, rather than the iconic sights of a destination, some of the most memorable stops on my travels have been perfume stores I’ve stumbled across, some old and steeped in history, others beautifully designed new builds. What follows is my pilgrimage list: the addresses I’d point anyone towards, whether they’re chasing a 400-year-old formula made by monks or finding a truly unique scent that nobody else has.
House of Creed is on London’s iconic Mount Street
Founded in 1760 as a Mayfair tailoring house, Creed didn’t turn to scent until 1781, when James Henry Creed blended Royal English Leather for George III – later, Queen Victoria appointed the house official supplier to the royal household. Their two-floor London boutique is a fragrance haven – the marble adorned bar sets the stage for bespoke consultations, personalisation and a glass of Champagne.