Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking

Fine linens, cool pool and a barbecue for this soothing barn renovation in a dreamy corner of Tuscany. Friendly owners can cook on request

A special little house, renovated with huge style, filled with beautiful objects and with a delightfully quiet and secluded private garden

Beautiful architecture, amazing wine cellars, great food, and hosts with an infectious enthusiasm for classical music. Lovely French B&B

17th-century farmhouse full of colour and interest with friendly hosts and great breakfasts. Explore the Cotswolds - bring the dog too

In a hamlet in the Loire countryside is a friendly estate with a family-sized gite, a shared saltwater pool and heaps of old-world charm

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

Smart, spacious house for 12 with great views over the family vineyard - arrange a tasting, walk the Cotswold Way, cycle the canal towpath

Three gîtes in the Dordogne with panoramic countryside views and a swimming pool – book individually or together for a group holiday

Outside a perfect bastide village, an elegant manoir for lazy days in the Dordogne, fabulous dinners and glorious gardens

Come for a quintessentially English country cottage tucked down a village path with wisteria in the garden and a short walk to a foodie pub

Soak up Provençal peace in a charming estate in the Alpilles, with stylish ground-floor B&B rooms, olives, vines and a friendly family dog

Come for peace, space and much comfort in this nifty house with gorgeous views over acres of vines from the terrace and pool

Come to walk, cycle, fish and hunker down in style in front of the wood-burner - sleep in deep comfort in a lovingly converted barn

In Andalusia, step through an ancient wooden door into this Moorish-inspired townhouse with a pool and tapas bars just moments away

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

A lovely old traditional mas, built around a courtyard with lots of outdoor space and rambling gardens for happy gatherings, and sunny days

A bit like staying with friends in a smart country house, but not having to help - an elegant refuge near Bradford-on-Avon