I am looking for an Austin apartment/house to spend some time in this spring. Preferably a 2+ bedroom please with a lot of natural light and close to good cafes/parks etc. Dates are fairly flexible.

Alternatively, we are also interested in spending some time on the East Coast (e.g. NY, Maine) and would consider a swap.

About the Swap:

30 minutes inland from Cannes and close to everything Provence and the Cote D'Azur can offer, lies our self-contained retreat, a hamlet made up of a handful of spacious renovated 17th century farmhouses. Surrounded by 12 acres of ancient olive, fig and oak trees that form part of the estate, the hamlet offers an authentic Procencal experience, a respite from the restful pace of 21-century life.

A large (12/5 metre) swimming pool is 150 metres from the main house on an olive terrace. Further down is a tree house in the form of a wooden platform that serves as a great retreat. Of the four houses, we rent out the guest house. A large artist's studio is available on request.

We own the entire hamlet. There is no through traffic as the hamlet is at the end of a rough road. A large lake (Lac Staint Cassien) is 5 minutes away by car. The nearest shopping area is 10 minutes away, as is the village of Montauroux.

As we frequently use the guest house ourselves, it is filled with beautiful antique Provence furniture, quality kitchen utensils, modern art and books.

It is located in the hills of the Cote D'Azur, 40 minutes drive from Nice airport. The beaches of Cannes, Theoule sue Mer or St. Raphael are 30 minutes away. In the other direction are beautiful small hill towns such as Fayence or Grasse.

Additional information

The guest house (4 persons, 80 m ²)
2 bedrooms (1 bedroom with large double bed, 1 bedroom with 2 single beds), 1 bathroom.
On the ground floor of this self-contained house there is a kitchen and a separate living room with fireplace. The first floor consists of a primary bedroom with balcony and a bedroom with two single beds. The bathroom has a shower. There is also a terrace with a free-standing hammock, table and chairs.

The pool (shared with the main house if occupied)
A 12/5 metre pool is located on its own terrace. Around the pool are sun loungers, pool beds, a shaded gazebo and a shower. A sauna is next to the pool.

A Jurte (for meditation only) and tree platform are part of the hamlet.

Activities
There are many wonderful excursions to nearby villages such as Montauroux and Callian (10 and 15 min), Seillans (20 min) and Grasse (30 min). Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Biot, St Paul de Vence and other famous towns are all within 30-45 minutes drive. Our favourite beach is in Theoule sur mer, 35 mins away. We have many guide books of the region as well as a book with our own personal restaurant recommendations.

Although the hamlet is close to many attractions, we and most of our guests are reluctant to leave the premises and instead spend our days by the pool, reading in one of the hammocks, doing yoga on the tree house, walking along the olive terraces, cooking and socialising around the dining table. Right from the hamlet you can go mountain biking, swimming or kayaking in the lake, running and hiking (4 mountain bikes and a kayak are available). A few shops in the neighbourhood also offer horse riding.

The Artist Studio
As the hamlet once belonged to a renowned art dealer and his artist wife, there is a 100 m ² artist studio. This studio consists of a large room, a working area and a toilet and shower. The room was formerly used as a communal sleeping area for the owner's children and for table tennis and other games.

A German-Swiss-French guardian couple live in a separate house and takes care of the infrastructure of the houses, such as the water system (well) and the pool.

About This Lister

I live in Berlin/London with my partner. This is our Families Hamlet. I run a startup together with my partner. We travel a lot for work and need to be in the US for several events this spring.