A wonderful surprise inside this 1590 house sitting in a beautiful walled garden full of fruit trees, just off the High Street

Ideal for families: pool, tennis and golf at the hotel with beach and yachting nearby. Comfortable bedrooms and a terrace for outdoor dining

An idyllic hotel-restaurant in a postcard-pretty medieval village. Warm interiors, a varied menu of local produce, masses to see and do...

An adorable little 1800s cottage with a garden – simple, unpretentious and filled with the owner's colourful art on walls and lampshades

Near lively Lyon, this handsome family house is perfect for a Zen-like escape with delicious vegetarian meals and well-travelled hosts

Starry skies, wild beauty and total peace are yours in these sustainable, solar-powered eco-lodges

Utter peace in a simple, beautiful space with a sculpture garden to wander, an art studio to visit and walking and cycling on Dartmoor

Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

Painting courses on request, gardens full of roses, a parasol’d terrace, a seductive pool… we love this welcoming, traditional hotel

11 rooms yet huge personality: travel mementoes, bright colours, local breakfasts... in a fun market town under the Cotswold escarpment

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

Medieval manor house and busy farm. A welcoming atmosphere, big bedrooms, breakfast in the baronial great hall by the cosy log fire

An impressive, south-facing bastide on three floors with a sunny pool, lovely garden and grounds that stretch to vineyards and garrigue

Your own private suite in the wing of a traditional Burgundian winemaker's house in a tiny hamlet, surrounded by fields of vines

Vineyards, fruit trees and immaculate gardens, amazing food and wine, a sense of seclusion and sweeping views of the Tuscan hills

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

A lake to fish, a terrace for evening sun and a choice of two spaces with a shared pool and games room, a short hop from pretty Auvillar

This shuttered, stone maison in Gascony on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrims' route is a joy for families to spend time together