Come for a big gathering of friends or family and take the whole house plus an extra cottage in the pretty gardens – swim in the pool, relax

A smart village local with original timber frames, a lively bar, elegant rooms and delicious food from the fields around you

A beautifully restored cottage in a rustic-chic style, set above the dramatic Gorges de l’Aveyron; perfect for couples or families of four

Get away from it all in 'old' France, where melons taste like melons & hikes start from the door. This rural bolthole is a serious treat

Come for a quiet, spoiling B&B, delicious breakfasts, delightful wines and a stunning garden with pool in the heart of southern Burgundy

A romantic little bolthole with a hot tub on the Penicuik Estate with well-thought-out interiors and dreamy views over pastures and woodland

Two duplex apartments filled with art and sculptures inside a beautiful 18th-century orangery, minutes from magnificent Versailles

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

A wall of glass frames the sea view - take drinks on the waterfront lawn in summer, or by the crackling fire in winter

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

This 300-year-old Cotswold pub, the hub of picture-book Sapperton from which there are glorious walks, is a superb place to eat and stay

Filled with interesting finds, antiques and artefacts, this is a charming cabin hideaway for couples on the banks of the Kingsbridge Ria

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

A rare treat, 700 metres above sea level and girdled by forests, waterfalls, chestnuts and olives, this is the place to come for solace

The wow factor is set to eleven at this magnificent château steeped in French history and surrounded by acres of land (and a moat)

Elegant stable cottage in the heart of Northumberland, with lush gardens and cosy interiors. Explore castles, coast and countryside

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