Come for peace and quiet down a long lane, pretty buildings and big, beautifully-kept gardens with a secluded outdoor pool

Small and elegant family-run hotel with airy bedrooms, plenty of private spaces and a bus to take you to the centre of bustling Avignon

Cottages, rooms and apartments on an historic 18th-century family estate with gorgeous gardens, a shared pool and a view-filled terrace

Steps from the sea in get-away-from-it-all scenery – half an hour’s walk from St Ives’ arty heart. Sleeps 4 with pull-out beds for 2 more

Homely furnishings and 17th-century charm at this estate on the Severn, whose owners are mad about horses and give you fine home produce

Artistic souls will like it here, and those who enjoy shared meals & getting to know other people in dramatic countryside; Arezzo is 40 km

An airy converted barn with beautiful woodwork and countryside views. Reach riverside restaurants and St Malo within a 15-minute drive

Beautifully connected, engagingly old-fashioned London pad, with a garden. Head out for Vauxhall Park, the Tate, Westminster...

A grand piano to play and a delicious bed to sink into, at this cool, arty bolthole near Frome. For those who love spaciousness and peace

A large tranquil apartment with garden and pool surrounded by Tuscan countryside, just over half an hour's drive from Siena

Perfect for lovers of the quintessentially English cottage - carefully renovated and classily stylish - a ramble to nearest pub

A superb palazzo in beautiful old Florence with 13 design rooms, a cocktail menu and breakfast in your room. Arty, stylish and near the Duomo

Chiara’s blissfully informal hillside home is a hard place to leave... Guests can get involved with cookery courses or the olive harvest

A big old house with a lovely pool, surrounded by ancient olives just 3kms from the sea and deep in the heart of Bandol wine country

A peaceful setting among plane trees and oleander for this traditional mas with separate apartments and a gypsy caravan, pool and gardens

Plenty of restful, comfortable space indoors and out in the Mediterranean garden with its courtyard pool – restaurants to walk to

A flawlessly restored palazzo in the oldest part of town opposite an ancient monastery, with peaceful courtyard and a terrace with views

A beautifully restored cottage and extra wing for 3 - 4 on Bodmin Moor for families, outdoor types and lovers of real countryside – dogs can come too