Superbly comfortable house with beamed rooms, lovely views, club-like morning room, antiques, terrace, pool, fitness centre and lily pond

Breathe, relax in peaceful Provençal countryside: olives, lavender and budding fruit trees. Aix's lively markets are 10 minutes away

Rural bliss at the end of the lane: a cottage for 2 with wine and local biscuits in the hamper and farmers’ markets within a 5-mile drive

A wonderful country house, a unique wine story, very luxurious rooms and suites, a spa, infinity pool and restaurant

Eco-friendly B&B overlooking Lake Como with marvellous mountain and lake views. Heaps of space, generous hosts, a menagerie of animals

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

A sweet retreat for a nature-loving couple, with soul-searching views and the smell of the sea. Logs and Breton cider are on the house...

The smallest of three secluded cottages that share a gravel courtyard and a beautiful garden with cathedral views

Welcoming and friendly place in a non-touristy area of the city within walking distance of the centre and with a fabulous roof terrace

Come for a sense of complete peace surrounded by country and coast with wonderful interiors to boot – a bolthole for two (plus two)

A stylish mountain chalet under the watchful gaze of Mont Blanc, with a private chef, hot tub and sauna

Once a lofty edifice for music recitals, now an original place to stay - with stained-glass windows, a bed on a stage and wild gardens

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

One of five cottages on the Wern Estate, all comfort and charm, with a garden for kids, rockpools at Black Rock Sands and a mountain railway

An eco renovation of an 1800s gamekeepers cottage, now a charming place for couples or families to immerse themselves in nature

A traditional, grand 1850 townhouse sitting in a large, landscaped garden with mature trees, a short walk to the village centre and square

An old-world inn full of colour, with open fires, cosy rooms, local food and the magnificent Northumberland National Park all around