Big house with bags of character and easy access to beaches, cafés and cobbled streets, coastal paths and hidden coves

Get a taste of la dolce vita in this boutique resort perched high above Sorrento, gateway to the dazzling Amalfi coast

A traditional country house experience with plenty of space for big family get-togethers, on a very old estate with fascinating gardens

You're right on the water in this 1820 granary-turned-hotel, with calming bedrooms, bustling bar and restaurant serving excellent local fare

A true gem - sleep in a small hillside castle, share delicious communal meals, walk or cycle to the beautiful waterfalls nearby

An ancient farmstead in the Lombard style with up-to-date B&B rooms plus a garden, lake and museum all surrounded by quiet countryside

Come for pristine beaches, long walks to Barbate, sea views, whale watching trips and serene suites

Mont Blanc looms large over this alpine chalet in quiet Les Tines, a stone’s throw from Chamonix and miles of mountain trails

A very peaceful, family-run hotel on the shores of Lake Garda with rose and jasmine-scented gardens for summer dinners by candlelight

Glorious Elizabethan manor house lovingly furnished with exceptional art and antiques by its welcoming owners

A pretty upside-down cottage, formerly a dovecote, lovingly restored with sustainability the focus

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

A confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre

Homely furnishings and 17th-century charm at this estate on the Severn, whose owners are mad about horses and give you fine home produce

Lovely owners have created this quirky space on their farm; side-by-side al fresco baths make it romantic for two

Gorgeously rural pub with rooms nestled in a leafy Somerset valley: sweet bedrooms, fantastic menus, and charming owners. Dog friendly, too

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