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Unique expertiseWhy is Salon famous for soap?
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The Capital of oils and soap

Salon has been making Savon de Marseille soap using the traditional method since 1752. Our town is actually the second biggest manufacturer after Marseille itself.

Why? Because Salon is surrounded by olive trees which make precious olive oil, the main ingredient in Savon de Marseille.

Salon soapmakers

Guardians of tradition

Around the soap

To see and do

The soapmakers' district

Soapmakers' architectural heritage

Salon’s trade and industry boomed between 1870 and 1920, bringing “architectural euphoria” to the town in the form of “private, public, industrial or commercial buildings”. Salon’s beautiful buildings hark back to the town’s heyday. Here are a few of them: Hôtel Armieux (Palais de Justice), Château Couderc (Clinique Vignoli), Château Garcin (Ecole Michelet).Explore this incredible slice of history that epitomises Salon and its population’s boundless energy in the past, present and future.

Savon De Marseille RampalSavon De Marseille Rampal
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Rampal Latour soap factory
Rampal Latour: Genuine Savon de Marseille, organic toiletries and household cleaning products that take care of your skin and the environment.
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Carry on exploring

Explore Salon-de-Provence

A potted history

The Golden Age

History

The railway lines opened in 1873 and saw Salon’s oil and soap trade flourish. The rural little town turned into an industrial hub as the oil and soap trade expanded. This period of great economic wealth is what made the town what we see today: the main roads (Avenue de la République, Boulevard Foch etc.), train station, Théâtre Armand, Cercle des Arts, hippodrome, manors, soap factories etc.

The boom

So between 1870 and 1930, Salon-de-Provence flourished with the oil and soap trade (and coffee too) before it all came to an abrupt end before World War II. Salon has almost forgotten the saga. Let’s go back to a time that left the town with incredible architectural heritage and expertise that lives on in two stout-hearted soap factories that came out of the Belle Époque unscathed: Marius Fabre and Rampal Latour.

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