The emblematic violets of Tourrettes | Côte d’Azur France / French Riviera

VIOLETS, A HISTORIC ACTIVITY

The viola odorata is grown for its scent and taste properties, which are used in perfumery and confectionery respectively. Tourrettans first grew the Parma violet, which is also produced in Toulouse. Then the Victoria variety gradually became the main flower grown in the village.

The Tourrettes violet grows from October to March on small terraced plots. Its cultivation has always been based on manual labour, requiring good physical skills. Horticulturists use it to make bouquets, which are sold between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. It symbolises shyness and secret love.

It is also used to make confectionery and related products. In the kitchen, chefs have used violets to make dishes and desserts. The leaves are also harvested outside the flowering season to make perfume.

Tourrettes remains the only area in France where violet production is the main, if not the only, activity of horticulturalists. The Tourrettes violet has gained notoriety over the years and continues to make a name for itself around the world.

A festival in its honour has been held every year since 1952. On 6 March 2010, the town also inaugurated the Bastide aux Violettes, a living museum dedicated to the flower and the expertise of its growers.

Tourrettes sur Loup — ©CRT COTE D'AZUR FRANCE/Camille MOIRENC

GROWING VIOLETS TODAY

Faced with global competition, violet production in Tours has had to evolve if it is to survive. Producers have therefore chosen to focus on the quality of their product. Violets are grown organically and in a sustainable way, to protect the environment and produce a product of excellence. The violet fields are areas that encourage biodiversity.

Farming practices are also evolving and making way for innovation. In particular, new soil-less cultivation techniques have made their appearance. Harvesting is done daily during the winter, and growers often call on seasonal workers to harvest the violets by hand. This work requires a certain amount of experience to be able to select the right flowers quickly and without damaging them.

BOUQUETS, CONFECTIONERY & PERFUMES

The bouquets are made at the end of the day. Each bouquet is made up of around 25 flowers, surrounded by a corona of leaves and meticulously tied. Producing 100 bouquets an hour is a fast-paced operation.

The flowers can also be used in confectionery. The Coche family business has developed a process for crystallising violets by coating them in sugar and drying them in an oven. The violets are cleaned and processed directly after harvesting.

The Florian confectionery has a different production process for a similar result. Between the beginning of May and the end of July, the leaves are mown and delivered the same day to Grasse. There, they are processed into the finest perfumes.

See this post on Instagram
A publication shared by Mairie de Tourrettes-sur-Loup (@tourrettes.sur.loup)

THE VIOLET FESTIVAL, A DATE NOT TO BE MISSED

See you in 2026

Every year, the violet festival takes place on the first weekend in March, heralding the end of the season for producers. It was created in 1952 by Victor Linton, an artist and goldsmith of Scottish origin who lived in Tourrettes-sur-Loup. In 2026, it will celebrate its 74th anniversary. With a craft market, tours of the Bastide aux violettes, entertainment, a flower parade and a flower fight, you won’t have any secrets left about the violet!

Linton, who fell under the spell of the village, wanted to honour the producers and their know-how with a festival. For the first edition, bicycles, pushchairs and donkeys were transformed into flowery mounts that children happily rode. In the Place de la Libération, stalls selling local produce rubbed shoulders with stalls selling arts and crafts.

Over the years, the violet festival has become a veritable institution, attracting locals and tourists from all over the world. The festival is particularly popular with Italians, who flock to the festivities. The bicycles have given way to imposing floats entirely covered in flowers. Thousands of spectators attend every year.

THE VIOLETS OF TOURRETTES-SUR-LOUP

YOU'LL LOVE IT TOO!