“We exchanged homes with Olivier, Gregorie and their kids on August 2015; I have nothing but good things to say about this experience. First of all, these people are super nice, cooperative and responsible. The house is as beautiful as in the pictures; spacious, well equipped and charming. The little village is tucked away up the hill, very quiet and peaceful. There are many fun activities within 20 - 45 minutes drive away – water sports, hiking, biking etc. The scenery is postcard like beautiful – green, forest and water all around. Gregorie and Olivier left us well documented tips and recommendations, along with maps and leaflets of the area. At the same time they visited Tel Aviv and took good care of our apartment and things. Highly recommended! Uri Kochavi and Hadas Leviner”
Renovated 17th century farm in beautiful countryside close to the Loire river
Renovated 17th century farm in beautiful countryside close to the Loire river

Olivier
Joined
Feb 2011
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- 3 Bedrooms
- Sleeps 7
- 1 Bathrooms
About our home
Our house is an old family farm from the XVIIth century. It has been totaly renovated 14 years ago. The 1 m wide stone walls and the oldness of the house made the pattern quiet special.
The main room (which was the old barn) is a large and very high ceiling room with the kitchen, the dinning area, a wood stove and a sofa.
There have 3 real bedrooms and an open bedroom. A small bedromm with a double bed, a larger one with a single bed, and in the attic another bedroom with a double bed.The open bedroom is downstairs with a double bed. Extra matresses available if needed. The bathroom has a bath, and toilettes are separated.
Downstairs there is also another lounge area with the television, internet, the old fireplace with a modern wood stove, and an area closed by curtains where is the open bedroom(with a double bed). This room is very cosy, very fresh in summer and warm in winter (from the stove !).
The whole house has wood flooring, except the room in the attic which has a natural fiber carpet.
Outside there is an area to eat in the shade. Swings, trampoline, and other children toys.
We also own the little house just in front, where there is our garage for the car, bikes (that you can borrow), tools...
Features
- Main home
- Garden
- Wifi
- Cable TV
- Equipped for kids
- Car optional
- No smoking
- Central heating
- Dish washer
- Washing machine
- Dryer
- Parking
- Pet-friendly
Olivier's reviews
As a host (4)“We have spent a great and relaxing Christmas week at the home of Olivier and Grégorie. The house is extremely beautiful and charming - we did especially enjoy the kitchen open to the dining room, where the kids could play while we cooked. The house was always warm, and the wooden floor make it extremely comfortable to walk around without shoes. The landscape surrounding the house is really beautiful, with woods, mountains, and little villages. Despite the snow, we could make some walks around. Olivier and Grégorie have prepared very good recommendations on things to do around and places to visit, and they also provided us with useful information and booklets.... the area is a dream for families with kids! The communication with Olivier and Grégorie has been fluent, and even if we could meet for just a short time, we immediately felt "connected" to this kind and happy family. Exchanging with them has been a pleasure, and hopefully we'll be able to share a bottle of wine at some moment in the future..”
“Our family made a very nice home swap with Olivier and Gregorie and their kids at Christmas time. Their house is "in the middle of nowhere" but that was exactly what we were searching! In fact, this is not true, as there are plenty of things to do in the surroundings of la Fayolle, especially if you love outdoor activities and hiking. The house itself was renewed recently and is comfortable, including during cold winter times as we came there in December. Scenic views just outside the house and even more a bit further. Lovely small villages where "time has stopped", plenty of castles, good open air markets and heritage towns to see: Le Puy en Velay, St Etienne etc. The family was very helpful, with very complete instructions for the house and hiking/activities suggestions. They also took great care of our house. To sum up we can only warmly advise this friendly family and their welcoming house!”
“We spent splendid holidays at Olivier and Grégorie. Their house is situated in very quiet locality and was a great base for our trips. The nature in the surroundings is very beautiful. Olivier and Grégorie were very nice and we had a lot of very useful hints and addresses for the trips. thank you very much. ”
More about us
-
We are a family of 5. Olivier works as a commercial in the graphic arts, and Gregorie works as an independant in educational help. We have 3 children: 2 boys of 18 and 16, and a girl of 12. We also have 3 cats, they mainly live outside.
We did our first exchange in 2011, and all loved it. Since we have done 11 swaps all in different countries, and highly enjoyed each experience. We both travelled before having children, and find house swap a nice way to show the world to our children, making them more open on new people and cultures, as welle as teaching them respect.
We also love hosting people (we own a "gite"), and so we will be happy to have you enjoy our house, to discover our beautiful area.
Swap availability
- White
- Open to offers
- Green
- Available
- Red
- Not Available
Where is it?
Neighbourhood
La Fayolle in dialect means "the village at the top of the mountain."
Perched on the mountain above the village of Chamalières sur Loire, La Fayolle counts twenty houses. It is a very cute, quite, well untertained and friendly hamlet.
It is surrounded by woods, even though there is a nice view on the Loire valley.
The first village is 4 km away: Chamalières/Loire (Church and Priory from Xth century), where walking, biking , fishing along the Loire are possible. To swim in summer: a few open air swimming pools within 15 km, and a little further some lakes. Many typical village markets around, with local farm products (nice meat and local cheese).
The Haute-Loire has a very important historical heritage:
castles dating from the XIIth century, and the city of Puy en Velay which is 35 km away (with its the Cathedral and surroundings)- www.ot-lepuyenvelay.fr -(World Heritage of UNESCO, and starting point of the 'Via Podiensis', one of the itineraries of the pilgrimage of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle) Also the site for many festivals.
Nature is very present in this region. The hilly land between rivers, plains, forests and volcanoes gives beautifull sightseeings. It offers all kind of activities outside and lots of things to enjoy.(www.respirando.fr).
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