B&B as it should be. Home-cooked breakfast in an Aga-warmed kitchen, a comfortable bedroom with garden views, a beach you can walk to

Perthshire country house with contemporary touches. Deer, red squirrels, tawny owls... and the river Tay glints way below through the trees

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

Restored stone barn on a farm in the Lake District National Park, with views of fields and woods and an excellent pub nearby

This eco-friendly farmhouse in the hills of Fiesole is 10km from Florence. Good company, superb views of Tuscany, and food for the soul!

Bright and spacious barn for two and a baby on the South Downs Way, close to Brighton and the coast

Delightful little antique-filled cottage with large walled garden and an allotment near Versailles. Gardeners will be happy

A comfortable and characterful 1775 gatekeeper's lodge on the Mount Congreve Estate with access to the magnificent gardens

If houses could smile, this 1850 townhouse would be beaming - grand for groups, with four terraces, two living rooms and a plunge pool

Hike the Wild Boar Fells, get cosy at home with books, games and DVDs, and meet the farm’s hens, cows and sheep

In the shadow of a Norman château on the Cherbourg Peninsula, a cosy house for three with private parking and restaurants outside the door

Drink a toast to your good fortune as you gaze across to Elba from a vast free-standing bath. You breakfast on the view-filled terrace

5 houses near Siena to make design-lovers happy; come for the rural solitude of ancient stone farm buildings with urban interiors

A glamourous escape in central Nice. Creative art-filled interiors, a fabulous tropical garden, sumptuous buffet breakfasts, pool and spa

Come for sea air, independent shops, great places to eat and this quirky cottage with plenty of room and a sunny walled garden

Deep in the Wye Valley you’ll find wild swimming, kayaking and down-time. This cottage is a spacious yet cosy base for any adventure

An 18th-century limestone barn, now a quiet hideaway for a group of friends or family in a very rural spot surrounded by fields and woods

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