Gaze on Umbrian hills as the children play, watch the fireflies dance at night. Dine fabulously in Gubbio - or here. Sociable-family bliss

A small, charming house with ravishing sea views within walking distance of a bohemian coastal village at the foot of the Teix mountain

A warm and convivial place steeped in French history with an interesting, kind host who really looks after you. Under an hour from Paris too

In her smart top-floor flat, perfectly situated between Montmartre and the Opéra Garnier, Rosemary does brilliant B&B

Garden and mountain views from this pretty villa for two - Lake Como shimmers below. Pick up morning pastries in picturesque Mezzegra

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

If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Vibrant, artistic barn conversion in the heart of York, a five-minute walk from the Minster. Convivial place with helpful, friendly hosts

A renovated, comfy Victorian cottage behind a small village pub, a hub for the local community and with good food, ales and wine

A contemporary country-house hotel with a lovely spa and peaceful gardens - Sandringham and the north Norfolk coast are close

An elegant French château brimming with antiques and surrounded by landscaped lawns. Enjoy convivial dinners with the perfect host

A surprisingly roomy interior for this pretty chocolate-box cottage in the middle of the village, just a ten-minute walk from Lulworth Cove

A truly authentic place to stay on a Sicilian working farm with roaming hens, wheat fields, wild flowers and a distant view of the sea

Log fires smoulder, rooms are comfortable, the food is delicious and there's bags of character at this old village pub – once a cider house

A pretty cottage in the grounds of an 18th-century house in the heart of southern Burgundy, with stunning gardens and a shared pool

Beautiful, fresh townhouse with spoiling touches just outside the city walls of Canterbury. Whitstable close by, eateries a walk away

An 1800s former watermill, now elegantly converted to give B&B rooms plus a self-catering cottage in the Côte d'Opale, superb for walking

Beautiful, and with a delightfully rambling garden, this early 16th-century manor has bags of room for happy days with family or friends