Friendly touches everywhere, terrific food and drink, smart bedrooms above the sparkling bar – dogs and children welcome

An ancient farmstead in the Lombard style with up-to-date B&B rooms plus a garden, lake and museum all surrounded by quiet countryside

Superb views, scenic walks and a huge range of activities all within easy reach of this beautifully restored property

A pretty stone single-storey house, now renovated beautifully into a comfortable hideaway with wonderful views to woodland and river

A natural idyll made even better by friendly owners. Bask in the mountain views, explore astonishing Asturias, settle into the slow pace

Towering 5 storeys above lively Palermo, a gracious B&B with sunlit rooms, lovely Sicilian hosts and breakfast in fine china on the terrace

A light and bright converted milking parlour in a rural idyll with a barbecue hut, a spa overlooked by horses and a shared hot tub

Wow. The sort of place you long for on dreary days - inspired architecture, heavenly views, delicious home-cooked food, a lake for swimming

A mid 1800s converted farmhouse and a cottage in a quiet hamlet with private gardens and lovely grounds, just 15 minutes from the coast

A rustic-chic bolthole with bird's eye views to gaze at from your bedroom and the beautiful garden, tucked in a quaint hamlet in Maremma

The perfect country cottage made of pretty Quercy stone, with generously sized rooms and outside dining with gorgeous rural views

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

Bold, bright decor within the 19th-century walls of this pretty courtyard cottage, with a hot tub and long views over parkland and lake

An 1800s former watermill, now elegantly converted to give B&B rooms plus a self-catering cottage in the Côte d'Opale, superb for walking

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

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside

A very attractive stone building on a smallholding with all mod cons, a bedroom for stargazing, Guest Farm Shop and pretty communal gardens

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character