A stunning château with huge rooms, pretty balconies with views, peaceful garden. Super owners, excellent dinners - and child-friendly too

A lovely listed cottage, just stumbling distance from a good pub in a quiet village surrounded by spectacular walking and cycling country

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

All you'd hope for, and more! Enormous rooms, marvellous beams, majestic views and wines from their vineyard

Your hosts couldn’t be nicer and look after you beautifully – this is a lovely, homely place with a rambling garden

This lovely, beamy, uncluttered Tuscan farmhouse with separate apartment is an elegant lodging on a vast fruitful estate with pool, and lovely owners

A light and airy barn conversion, very comfortable and rural, sitting on a hill with views to the south overlooking the Stour valley

Dominating the village is this historic hotel... all frescoes, chandeliers, splendour at every turn. And a handsome pool, too

Comfortable, traditional, accessible and in the grounds of an old rectory with meadows and the river Frome nearby for summer dips

A calm, leafy bolthole in one of Paris' most elegant districts. Step out to stylish boutiques, good bakeries – and the Eiffel Tower

A delightfully untouched and simple cottage and garden for old-fashioned family seaside holidays just a short walk to Mawgan Porth beach

A grand dining hall and super kitchen, perfect for big gatherings. Spot spoonbills on the salt marsh, sea swim or walk to delis and pubs

In wine country, a beautifully revived 16th-century manor and hospitable B&B. Visit Angers’ cathedral, cruise along the Loire to Saumur

Traditional family-run hotel with sitting rooms galore, award-winning food and Snowdon views. High teas and games room for children too

Your host runs home and B&B with effortless efficiency and you'll find shiny, spotless rooms to retreat to after a day's exploring

Submerge yourself in a magical landscape of sky, water and hills from this well-thought-out retreat, where silence reigns and peace is deep

Come for summer breakfasts of pastries fresh from the local bakery, afternoons reading by the pool and long, lazy lunches

Stay on a secluded private estate by the sea - once the home of the brilliant French writer, Colette