In an leafy quarter of central Milan, 2 inviting apartments run by generous Jane. Perfect for families and romancers

Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking

An elegant French château brimming with antiques and surrounded by landscaped lawns. Enjoy convivial dinners with the perfect host

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Traditional Provencal farmhouse with a large garden and a swimming pool. Historic villages with markets and great restaurants close by

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

A large cottage by the walled garden on a peaceful estate with oodles of space for big gatherings and views over a lake and mature trees

Vast house on an ancient Roman site with big terraced garden and pool. Grand yet homely, with air-con, spa and only 8 km to the city

Two rural retreats up a shared drive for gatherings of friends and family who enjoy the great outdoors and good food from the Meikleour Inn

Books, meadow flowers, a rocking chair by a cosy fire at this treasure-trove cottage of beautiful things - down tiny lanes in west Cork

Gaze out to the shimmering bay from your bird and nature-filled retreat in the tree-studded mountains near Alcúdia

An enchanting Belle Epoque villa with a terraced garden and superb views across palm trees and vines to Mont Saint-Michel

Set loose your inner castaway on your very own island with enthralling views and much wildlife a short boat ride from Skye

Simple and rustic, this early 1700s farmhouse has warmth and charm, surrounded by countryside in the Perche

A fine designer house and pool above the coastal hurly-burly and one of the loveliest coves in Spain, backing onto a nature park. Happy hols

An old sporting lodge in Argyll renovated with sensitivity – fish in the river, gaze at the night skies, climb Ben Udlaidh

An ideal stopover at a handsome 1790 house on the edge of a small village surrounded by beautiful countryside and with friendly young owners

A confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre