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

Fall in love with this riverside village, lost in a valley in lower Normandy, and this sunny house for couples or families

A 16th-century timbered riverside inn with a relaxed, rustic feel, garden cabin rooms with views and fresh seasonal and homegrown food

Unwind comfortably here with views to the crystal-clear lake, surrounded by forest trails and meadows for wonderful walking and cycling

In a small village on the borders, a Jacobean farmhouse luxuriously restored with lovely touches; the Brecon Beacons are close by

Deeply peaceful countryside retreat with exceptional food and wine laid on by Sam and Heather, your friendly hosts

Go with the slow - homemade delights, no plastic anything, few mod cons - just relaxed humorous hosts and a beautiful place

Lovely stone-built dog-friendly cottages with a pool in glorious, quiet surroundings near to lakes, mountains and wide sandy beaches

A roomy, open-plan space for romantics, with complete privacy but with pub, bakery and views of the market garden from your own terrace

Luxurious living combines with bleating sheep and bells from the church next door - 4 fabulous retreats on the Cotentin Peninsula

With a sauna in the woods and a Nordic bath by the lake, these carefully renovated farm buildings are a lovely slow-living retreat

Very relaxed B&B at this 17th-century country house just 5 minutes from the perched village of St-Paul-de-Vence and 10 from the sea

A relaxed old countryside manor house with a huge garden to roam. It’s 2km to sandy beaches and Judith is close by if you need anything

Come down to the Meon Valley and be (very gently) nudged towards a better way of living - a Sawday's Community Champion

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

Come for history, wildlife and a stunning garden estate with acres to roam. Bring children and dogs too. Fabulous

Wonderful views over medieval Gubbio from this rural stone farmhouse with pool, cottages and apartments sitting in lush gardens

Peaceful Highland hideaway on a wooded lochside: spy dolphins and otters, stargaze, and soak up the deep silence