An elegant hotel that feels like a well-kept secret, with charming staff, understated rooms and great restaurants a short walk away

A private villa beautifully flanked by gardens bursting with fruit. Here you'll find real Spanish character, style and a sun-trap terrace

A unique 1900 house and garden on the edge of Lyon, steeped in history and authenticity – a beautiful home with museum-quality objects

A stylish Sicilian farmhouse that feels like a home with hotel luxuries. Come for a generous welcome, lovely beaches and gorgeous local food

Leave the car, everything is walkable & buses are practically free. Visit restaurants, vineyards & markets from your lofty village bolthole

Ease yourself into a rather more gracious lifestyle from this sweet retreat on a historic estate with gorgeous walled gardens

Up in the hills, with Hay Bluff towering beside, this old stone house is sheltered in the valley with the brook rushing past to a waterfall

A medieval monastery, stunningly revived, in untouristy, car-free Pisciotta. Sip greco on the terrace; scramble through olives to the sea

A botanical beauty deep in the Loire Valley, this elegant house has history and heart in abundance

A very tastefully restored old stone stable on a gloriously rural estate with woodland gardens, lake and a deer park

Come for big skies, loch views, much wildlife, acres of forest and a charming wood-clad cottage from which to explore such a remote spot

Stay in the very first holiday let in the history of this lovely little hamlet of nine houses, with a superb sailing club and a decent pub

Come to stay in a fine old townhouse with elegant proportions, high ceilings and a rambling, English-style garden close to Mont Saint-Michel

A chalet-with-everything: great mountain style, space and comfort with views of Mont Blanc, a sauna and bubbling hot tub

A pretty retreat in the grounds of a romantic château – you have your own walled garden, with terrace, pool and sunbathing area

Retreat to a classically styled, elegant apartment for four - private and peaceful - in a characterful, super-central area of Rome

Quaint barns dotted among truffle oaks and rosemary, each one constructed the old-fashioned way and close to the Dordogne and Vézère

Glorious, thoughtful food, ales and wines using 'as much good stuff they can lay their hands on' at this restaurant with lovely rooms