Hilltop château on the edge of a small village half an hour from Saint-Émilion, with a lovely garden, a swimming pool and two lakes

Up in the hills, an amazing family holiday with Lorna and Lee. Weekly paella nights, great pool, lovely walking. Beauty therapies, too...

An artist's house imbued with an understated elegance. Stay for dinner; be charmed by the garden where fruit trees throng, hens loiter

Warm family hospitality, magnificent surroundings, bedroom breakfasts, candlelit dinners and elegant windows overlooking the park

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

An elegant manor house with pretty bedrooms, pool and large grounds. Nathalie looks after you with ease and sets you up with big breakfasts

An elegant hotel with wellness area, gym, gourmet restaurant, bar, bistro and 15 contemporary bedrooms decorated with Sicilian flair

You're overlooking the main square in medieval Umbertide from this cosy, second-floor apartment, so you'll feel very much like a local

A delight to stay in this 1880s croft house on the quieter west coast - fabulous vegetarian and vegan food, thoughtful rooms, lovely owners

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

An unbelievably stunning setting for this renovated 15th-century villa with garden on a hillside overlooking the famed Florence skyline

Leave the car, everything is walkable & buses are practically free. Visit restaurants, vineyards & markets from your lofty village bolthole

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

A charming, warm and intimate hotel tucked away on a side street just minutes from the Ponte Vecchio, with a view-filled rooftop restaurant

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts

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

Special back-to-nature, stargazing loft for couples and families, on a nature-filled estate in Piedmont