• At the Haut-Village campsite, in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chaf, holidaymakers reside in authentic planes, tram trains, or refurbished train cars.
  • The owner of the premises, Guillaume Staub, 51, takes a malicious pleasure in finding these old machines that he then transforms into "real housing with all modern comforts".

We walk the alleys as if we were walking in an amusement park. In Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, a seaside resort in Loire-Atlantique where the cakes of the same name are produced, another curiosity attracts tourists. For ten years, the Haut-Village campsite has been creating the "wow effect" with its unusual accommodation. But here, we are not talking about yurts or tree houses: holidaymakers reside in authentic planes, tram trains, or refurbished train cars. And the success is at the rendezvous, with a schedule that is full on this weekend of Ascension and passers-by who show up "every day, just to visit". "We really wanted to offer something never seen before," says Guillaume Staub, manager of this 3.5-hectare campsite, which also has simple mobile homes. That's good, I'm a big kid who likes to create things while having fun. »

The story begins ten years ago when the owner stumbles upon an American plane, full of soot, for sale on Le Bon Coin. Former maintenance and works manager in the hotel industry, Guillaume Staub then set himself the challenge of buying it to transform it into "real accommodation with all modern comforts", while retaining the cockpit that he rehabilitated in... toilet. "It's the beds that take up the most space," says the one who defines himself as a jack of all trades. The kitchenette and shower, it was not very simple either. Not to mention cleaning and transport, what a hassle! » Insulation, electricity, plumbing, wall assembly... It takes between three months and a year and a half of work to give a new life to these machines, usually bought from individuals and each time decorated with care, sometimes with recycled accessories.

"Rather spacious and comfortable"

When you enter the latest big news, you really believe it. At the Haut Village campsite, groups of up to 16 people can stay in an authentic Paris metro train on line 6 since last year (from 399 euros both nights on weekdays). Around, an entire station has been reconstructed with the platform, which serves as a dining room, paved with the iconic white tiles. Jean-Claude and Mado preferred to book in one of the railway cars with a wooded atmosphere, decorated with "real elements of the Orient-express". It must be said that Monsieur is a former railway worker. "We were delighted, reports the couple from Nantes, who came to celebrate their 50 years of marriage surrounded by their family. It's nice, well done, and finally rather spacious and comfortable! »

To complete his list already composed of a dozen atypical dwellings, Guillaume Staub's "ultimate dream" would be to acquire a flying saucer, one of the few Futuro houses he searches in vain on the Internet. But first, the fifty-year-old must complete the renovation of an American helicopter, which must welcome its first tenants this winter, already on a waiting list. The machine, a Sikorsky H34 bought 25,000 euros from a museum in Grenoble that had to leave its walls, will include a children's room connected to a container, which will contain the rest of the housing. The next project will concern a "magnificent train" of tramway of Saint-Etienne, bought at the same time as that of metro. A "monster job" will be necessary to makeover it in a "60s style", with formica kitchen.

  • Society
  • Loire-Atlantique
  • Pays de la Loire
  • Camping
  • Accommodation
  • Summer holidays
  • Transport
  • Unusual