Colourful coastal apartments and studios where you can be nicely independent, and enjoy a communal café and health club with Art Deco pool

Soak up Provençal peace in a charming estate in the Alpilles, with stylish ground-floor B&B rooms, olives, vines and a friendly family dog

An oh-so-special B&B in Palermo's ancient heart. This city at the edge of Europe, with its Arab-Norman-Byzantine heritage, is fascinating

This small hotel with pool has elegant communal spaces, spoiling bedrooms, kind staff, delicious food and panoramic mountain views

Gorgeous rooms and splendid breakfasts – for sybarites, history-lovers, cyclists and canoeists - bang in the middle of ancient Long Melford

Ease through a beautiful wrought iron gate to a courtyard and an elegant 1700s creamy stone holiday house, part of the château estate

Secluded villa with glorious views, infinity pool and lovely gardens, a three-minute walk from one of Italy’s most beautiful villages

Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

A serene apartment for 2 in the old fisherman's quarter in Olhão, close to amazing beaches. A special place for nature lovers and foodies

Ease yourself into a rather more gracious lifestyle from this sweet retreat on a historic estate with gorgeous walled gardens

Explore from this picturesque village; hike, cycle or ride through beautiful nature. Lay your head in creative, comfortable rooms

A pretty stone single-storey house, now renovated beautifully into a comfortable hideaway with wonderful views to woodland and river

A modern take on an Iron Age roundhouse with stunning sea views in Scotland’s wild west, perfect for couples

This architect-designed passive style house sits just behind the sand dunes at Waxham beach, one of Norfolk’s most lovely beaches

A tranquil agriturismo within easy reach of Padua. Superb views of the Euganean Hills, chic bedrooms and fine wine to sample

Elegant historic house set in acres of grounds transports you to a bygone belle époque (with all mod cons)

A privilege to be able to stay within the famous gardens of magnificent Château de Courances. The painter's village of Barbizon is nearby

A swish and very generous eco barn with a wood-fired hot tub and a view-filled deck close to fabulous walking in the Dales or the Lakes