Sun-soaked stillness, saltwater dips and garden scents of fig and rosemary - slow days unfold between olive trees and a sky full of stars

Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking

Tucked away privately in part of a spectacular listed manor house, this apartment has wonderful views across to Hartland and the sea

Burrowed into the olive groves of the lush Valle d’Itria, a restored masseria with five trulli, an indoor and outdoor pool, hot tub and lovely views

Spacious rooms and a cosy apartment a stone’s throw from Avignon’s historic sights. Retire to the heated pool after a busy day sightseeing

Perfect château B&B with pointy turrets and pale blue shutters, surrounded by gorgeous countryside, a cycle route and ancient villages

Pretty, thatched, perfectly round: a romantic village bolthole with retro touches. Grab flip-flops, leads and run the dogs on Pendower beach

In the city of Trapani, at the foot of Mount Erice, a nobleman's villa with a warm heart and exotic gardens. A hop from the Egadi Islands

Built in the 1800s, a charming stone house on the Penicuik Estate with views over woodland and hills and calming, beautiful interiors

A grand yet very homely place with tasty home cooking and 200 acres to explore. Play golf, sail, cycle – wonderfully informal

Rural French heaven at this lovely farm within four hectares. Natural materials, neutral colours and a lavender-lined pool all to yourselves

Outside a perfect bastide village, an elegant manoir for lazy days in the Dordogne, fabulous dinners and glorious gardens

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

Elegant Italian style in a sensitively-restored villa with sweeping views over rolling hills and forests

A cool pub with smart rooms, English ales and Thai-inspired food. Farringdon tube is round the corner and you can walk to the Barbican

Wrapped in fields and woods, this big traditional house has crisply furnished interiors and plenty of gadgets. Terraced gardens and pool too

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

Converted barn with the most welcoming owners – the garden and pool are all yours; explore a less touristy part of the Dordogne