You’ve seen the photos of her in the little black dress. You know the way she looked holding a cigarette holder in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But honestly? That wasn’t her. Not really. For Audrey Hepburn, the "real" her didn't live in Hollywood or even the posh streets of Rome. She lived in a drafty, 18th-century farmhouse in a tiny Swiss village called Tolochenaz. She called it La Paisible. In English, that literally translates to "The Peaceful Place."
It wasn't just a house. It was her sanctuary. For thirty years, this was the Audrey Hepburn children’s house, where she traded the flashing bulbs of the paparazzi for the quiet dirt of her vegetable garden and the chaotic joy of raising two sons, Sean and Luca.
Most people think of stars having "estates." Mansions. Gated fortresses. La Paisible was different. It was a home where the attic was a playground for toy trains and the gardens were filled with the scent of white roses, a gift from her dear friend Hubert de Givenchy. If you’re looking for the heart of Audrey, you won't find it on a movie set. You’ll find it in the Swiss soil of Tolochenaz.
Life at La Paisible: Why Audrey Chose the Quiet Life
Why would the world's biggest movie star move to a sleepy village in the 1960s? Basically, because she was tired. She had lived through the starvation and terror of World War II in the Netherlands. She had seen enough "noise" for three lifetimes. When she and her first husband, Mel Ferrer, bought the estate in 1963, they weren't looking for a showpiece. They were looking for a place where their son, Sean, could grow up without being "Sean Hepburn Ferrer, son of a star."
The house itself is an 18th-century gem. It’s got 12 bedrooms. That sounds like a lot, right? But it never felt like a hotel. It felt lived-in. There were five fireplaces that actually got used. The floors were made of terracotta and oak parquet that didn't mind a few scuffs from kids or dogs.
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Audrey once said that Switzerland was "even more a real home" than her apartment in Rome because of the trees. She loved those trees. Some of them were a hundred years old. She’d walk among them barefoot, pushing a pram or carrying a basket of fruit. To her, this was the ultimate luxury: privacy.
The Kitchen was the Heart of the Home
If you ask her son Luca Dotti about his mother, he doesn't talk about her Oscars. He talks about her pasta.
In his memoir, Audrey at Home, he describes a woman who was obsessed with her garden. She didn't just have flowers; she grew her own vegetables. She even thought about breeding rabbits and chickens at one point! The kitchen at La Paisible wasn't some high-tech stainless steel lab. It was a warm, bustling space where she made spaghetti al pomodoro and vanilla ice cream with poires mirabelle (a type of plum) from her own orchard.
- The Morning Ritual: Every morning, she’d head into the garden to pick fresh blooms for every room in the house.
- The Dogs: Her Jack Russell terriers were basically the third, fourth, and fifth children. They ate better than most people—fresh carrots, boiled rice, and seared meat with a drizzle of olive oil.
- The Library: This was her retreat within a retreat. It was decorated in shades of pink, with a painting of watermelon slices by Rufino Tamayo hanging over the sofa.
The Audrey Hepburn Children’s House and Her Sons
The house saw two different eras of her life. First, there was the Mel Ferrer era with her eldest, Sean. They moved there when he was just three. Later, after her divorce and second marriage to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, her second son, Luca, arrived in 1970.
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Sean and Luca grew up in a world of simplicity. They’d lie on her bed and watch TV with her. They’d hunt for Easter eggs in the massive, 40-acre garden. Christmas was a huge deal. They’d gather under a massive tree, and Audrey would put together baskets filled with nuts and fruit for everyone who worked on the estate.
One of the most touching stories comes from the children of the staff who lived there. Pierluigi Christophe Orunesu, whose parents worked for Audrey for decades, remembers the attic as the "perfect children's playground." He and his sister would play among the trunks and old furniture. His sister even used to dress up in the tiaras and necklaces Audrey had worn in her movies! Imagine that—playing "princess" with actual Hollywood history.
What Happened to La Paisible?
Audrey stayed at La Paisible until the very end. She died there on January 20, 1993. For a long time after her death, the house stayed in the family. Her sons eventually sold it in 2001 to a couple named Katharina and Jean-Marc Beaujolin.
The Beaujolins raised their own six children there. It’s kinda beautiful, honestly. The house remained a "children’s house" long after the Hepburn boys were grown. They even held two of their sons' weddings on those expansive lawns.
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Is it open to the public? No. This is a big point of confusion for fans.
For a while, there was a small museum in Tolochenaz dedicated to her, but it closed years ago. The house itself is a private residence. It actually went back on the market in early 2025 for a staggering $20.8 million.
If you visit Tolochenaz today, you can see the plaque on the gate that bears her name. You can visit her grave in the local cemetery—it's incredibly simple, just a stone cross. But you can't go inside the house. It remains what she always wanted it to be: a private sanctuary.
The Legacy of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund
While the house is private, the work she did there continues. A year after she passed, Sean and Luca founded the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
She spent her final years at La Paisible preparing for her grueling trips as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She’d come home from seeing the worst of human suffering in places like Somalia or Vietnam, and she’d use the peace of the Swiss countryside to recharge. The fund carries on that mission, supporting children in need across the globe.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you want to experience the "real" Audrey beyond the movies, here is how you can actually connect with her legacy:
- Read "Audrey at Home" by Luca Dotti. This is the definitive book on her life at La Paisible. It’s filled with her personal recipes and photos that were never meant for the public eye.
- Visit Tolochenaz respectfully. You can walk the village streets she once walked. You can visit the cemetery and the commemorative statue in the village square. Just remember that La Paisible is a private home—please stay behind the gates.
- Support UNICEF. Audrey’s work for children was the most important thing in her life. Donating to UNICEF or the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund is the best way to honor the woman who lived in that "peaceful place."
- Explore her garden philosophy. Audrey believed in the healing power of nature. Even if you only have a balcony, planting a rose bush or a small vegetable patch is a very "Audrey" way to live.
The Audrey Hepburn children’s house wasn't a museum during her life, and it isn't one now. It was a place of messy, beautiful, normal life. It was where she was just "Mummy," a woman who loved her dogs, her pasta, and the quiet rustle of the trees in the Swiss wind.