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

VIOLET, A HISTORICAL ACTIVITY

The viola odorata is grown for its fragrant and gustatory properties, which are used in perfumery and confectionery respectively. Tourrettans first grew the Parma violet, which is also produced in Toulouse. Later, 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. Horticulturalists use it to make bouquets, which are sold between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. It also 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 period for perfumery.

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

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

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

TODAY’S VIOLET GROWING

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

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, CONFISERIE & PARFUMS

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.

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 harvest.

The Florian confectionery has a different manufacturing 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 to be used in the composition of major perfumes.

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VIOLET FESTIVAL, AN INCONTOURNABLE DATE

See you in 2026

Every year, the violet festival takes place on the first weekend in March and heralds the end of the season for growers. It was created in 1952 by Victor Linton, a Scottish-born artist and silversmith in residence in Tourrettes-sur-Loup. In 2026, the famous town will celebrate its 74th birthday. With a craft market, tours of the Bastide aux violettes, entertainment, corso fleuri and flower battle, you’ll no longer have any secrets about violets!

Linton, who fell under the spell of the village, wanted to honour the producers and their expertise 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 flock to each edition of the festival.

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THE VIOLETS OF TOURRETTES-SUR-LOUP

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