In the small and rather elegant resort of Granville (50 Manche, Basse-Normandie) there is now a museum and garden dedicated to the designer Christian Dior.
This icon of French Haute-Couture had a house in the town - "Villa les Rhumbs" which houses the museum, containing a huge collection of his creations. Yet what is surprising is that his creative purple patch really only covered about 10 years from 1947 to his death in 1957 - when he single-handedly created the "new look" and eternalised the image of the eternal Parisian woman - elegant with fine shoulders and narrow waist. He was clearly also a serious businessman, as the name Dior has been sustained and developed in the 40 years since his passing.
High fashion was his forté, but he was also an entusiast and creator of fine perfumes, and part of the Villa is dedicated to perfumery - you can experiment and smell your own concoctions in the Perfume Workshop. And in the garden of the house there is an "aromatic" promenade through some of the plants which provide the essential oils for the perfumes.
For more info see www.musee-dior-granville.com
Just 30 miles south west via Avranches is the Mont St Michel - see www.baie-mont-saint-michel.fr/
