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 roomy, open-plan space for romantics, with complete privacy but with pub, bakery and views of the market garden from your own terrace

Come for a delightfully unfussy stay at this graceful townhouse filled with beautiful objects and good vibes thanks to the lovely owners

Wonderful views over medieval Gubbio from this rural stone farmhouse with pool, cottages and apartments sitting in lush gardens

2 lakes, streams, landscaped gardens, woodlands and waterfalls... a paradise for families, nature lovers, peace-seekers and birdwatchers

Hear the rooting of wild boar and the odd splash of the pool. For those who love fresh air, great food, and the sweet hills of Umbria

Peace, space, nature in the Champagne-hugged Somme valley - and home-grown, organic meals with generous French hosts. Family-perfect

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

Immaculate Cotswold beauty with great food, welcoming staff, handsome rooms and a sun-trap terrace, plus countryside walks from the door

Your own cosy apartment in the once arty, now classy Latin Quarter. An elegant, romantic and peaceful bolthole for 2

Family-run B&B in traditional trulli with hands-on hosts. Swim in the pool, explore the countryside, the coast is half an hour’s drive away

A country house, elegant and unstuffy, at the heart of a working Lazio olive farm. Lunch by the pool or unwind at the hot spring spa

Take a suite with champagne, strawberries and a tower, swim in the saltwater pool, eat a Castilian cocido - unwind in rural peace!

A smartly renovated 250-year-old brick and flint built inn, tucked away in a sleepy village beneath the glorious South Downs

Perched on a hilltop in a nature reserve, two lovely places to stay. Hike and beach-hop all day before relaxing in the pool

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

This old stone building, a former olive warehouse, is beautifully restored and sits on its own – a simple bolthole for rest and recuperation

Traditional B&B in a beautiful château bursting with history and surrounded by formal gardens, then farmland and two fine rivers