Great taste – in decor and food – and a delicious heated pool. Views swoop over field and valley; trails, villages, wineries tempt

Come here in the summer (it’s closed Nov-April except by arrangement) for candlelit dining, chintzy bedrooms, long views over the park...

Quirky lights and vintage 60s pieces add character to an immaculate home bathed in light and serenity - launch pad for stylish temptations

Perfect château B&B with pointy turrets and pale blue shutters, surrounded by gorgeous countryside, a cycle route and ancient villages

Ease through a beautiful wrought iron gate to a courtyard and an elegant 1700s creamy stone holiday house, part of the château estate

Beautiful views over Bantry Bay from this thoughtfully restored house with stylish rooms, gardens and woodland – a wonderful escape

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

A luxurious eco-retreat plus extra room in the Space Conker in private woodland with views to the Chaîne des Aravis and Mont Blanc

Such lovely views from this light-filled flat, built in the 19th century – curl up with a book and gaze out to sea

In her smart top-floor flat, perfectly situated between Montmartre and the Opéra Garnier, Rosemary does brilliant B&B

The sort of inn we all love – open fires, original beams, ancient flags, tasty food, with lovely bedrooms thrown in for good measure

An incredible living museum, dedicated to the history of Sicily and the arts. Stay in the main house or in a cottage in the fecund garden

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

An immaculately restored old inn with generous bedrooms, great food, ale and wine. Locals love it as much as those who make it a destination

Crackling fires in winter, croquet in the summer. Life ticks by peacefully - rooms are engagingly old-fashioned, the garden is much-loved

Come for authentic restoration, chic Savoyard décor, breathtaking views of the Portes du Soleil, and a chairlift a 7-minute drive

A converted 19th-century church in the Northumberland National Park with beautiful stained-glass windows and a restored tower