The holiday starts on the bumpy track along to this Arts & Crafts style modern house with plenty of space and a wrap-around garden

Magical for nature lovers, with wraparound views to the coastline of Skye. Inside: warmth, luxury and not a whisper from the wildest gale

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

Between Paris and Rouen, a handsome country house in Monet scenery. Cows graze, bedrooms soothe, friendships bud over bountiful breakfasts

View-filled apartments in Ortigia, the heart of Siracusa. Immerse yourself in the blue of the Ionian Sea; walk to culture, shops and restaurants

Simple but stylishly furnished village house, terrific hill-top views, low-impact design, organic cooking and a hot tub; utterly peaceful

A very comfortable, pretty cottage, safe for dogs and young children, surrounded by garden and mature woodland on the Badminton Estate

Taste the wine, plunge into the granite pool, play billiards in the library, linger outdoors as swallows swoop – eat delicious local dishes

A taste of old Italy in this off-the-beaten-track rustic house on three levels, exquisitely restored and with elegant designer furnishings

Take your time here. Lucy will take you round her wonderful garden, introduce you to her donkeys, and share her laid-back approach

A sustainably run 1902 farmhouse and a cottage in countryside close to a wonderfully wild stretch of the North Devon coast

Feel like a film star in this fun, 50s-inspired former chapel with its own record collection; walk to the coast path or the friendly local

Your friendly hosts offer you stylish bedrooms, swims in the heated pool, and wonderful dinners and wines. Cahors is only a 10-minute drive

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia

Beautiful cottages, donkey rides, a popular pool and restaurants to walk to. Dutch Peter knows all the walks in this heavenly valley!

An unbelievably stunning setting for this renovated 15th-century villa with garden on a hillside overlooking the famed Florence skyline

A rather grand, opulent house with warm owners, interesting furniture and art and some fine Renaissance architectural elements intact

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal