Location, location, location - you can't beat it, so look past the dated kitchen and bathrooms and enjoy this light, bright, coastal home

Come to shed your city cares, eat wonderful local food, spend time in simple, authentic surroundings and remind yourselves about serenity

A clutch of airy properties, most with their own jasmine-scented terraces arranged around a funky pool

A 1980s Catalan mas built in a traditional style, with garden and pool, surrounded by olive trees and vineyards near the Spanish border

In peaceful walled gardens, this former convent is a quiet retreat just a stone’s throw from the Riviera coast and the best of Tuscany

A lovely old traditional mas, built around a courtyard with lots of outdoor space and rambling gardens for happy gatherings, and sunny days

A contemporary country-house hotel with a lovely spa and peaceful gardens - Sandringham and the north Norfolk coast are close

Warm interiors, pretty bedrooms and excellent breakfasts – good value in a very handy central spot

Farmhouse B&B with thoughtful hosts and superb breakfasts; Michelin-star dining is in the village and thermal baths are near

Pippa tells you where to find wild flowers, babbling brooks and butterflies... and hike, bike and swim. Magic for families

Friendly Maki and Clive's higgledy-piggledy home is a charming, special place. Rooms are cosy, Clive's cookery courses are fun and delicious

Gorgeous small hotel perfectly placed for the magical Dales - stylish bedrooms, open fires, lovely staff and pretty gardens all wait

A light larch-clad space for lovers, or a retreat for walkers and writers in pretty Orford, once a medieval sea port but now on the river

Refined B&B in a pretty forest setting just north of the French Basque country, with a lovely garden, a swimming pool and delicious food

Understatedly stylish with French antiques, sofas and balconies overlooking town and gardens. A grown-ups' retreat, 200m from the ocean

A joyful, inviting house on a 15-acre smallholding in Devon. Super food, gracious hosts, delightful bedrooms - leave feeling nourished

Cosy, peaceful retreat not far from Hadrian's Wall. A real fire, tennis, BBQ, the Coast to Coast cycle route and hilly treks from the door

Feel at ease in a lovely old townhouse filled with pictures and personality and including a separate loft apartment