Gather family or friends and take both villa and cottage. The terraces and gardens have long views, the pool is roomy and the peace palpable

Snug, simple and delightful casitas with private entrances and courtyards interlink for groups. Stroll through the olives, bask by the pool

A beautiful cream stone building in the grounds of a grand château, with a large and view-filled outdoor terrace for peaceful dawdling

Come to be cossetted in this 300-year-old Burgundy farmhouse with rose garden, sheltered pool and convivial Dutch owners

Pretty, thatched, perfectly round: a romantic village bolthole with retro touches. Grab flip-flops, leads and run the dogs on Pendower beach

A humdinger of a pub, hidden in a sleepy village in the Surrey Hills, oozing character and charm and with delicious food and comfy bedrooms

A lovingly restored 19th-century farmhouse sitting between the Galtees and Ballyhouras, with a hot tub waiting at day's end

A really friendly French family home, steeped in history and tradition with delicious home-grown food, a lovely garden and peaceful pool

'Tout confort' in the heart of Reims, 2 steps from the cathedral. Lofty ceilings, marble fireplaces, polished floorboards, spa & sauna

A thatched farmhouse only just over the channel near Rouen that’s well hidden in lush gardens, but worth finding for the gourmet food alone

A smartly renovated village pub with rooms welcoming locals, visitors, families and dogs on a Staffordshire country estate

An extraordinary, inspiring place: eat 100% vegan food, drink organic wine, sleep in natural materials, swim in the salt-water pool

A truly special barn conversion, flooded with light and with its own decked outdoor space surrounded by bucolic countryside

Character and quirk in old and new design and furnishing – private terraces, a shared pool, great walking, cycling and wine-tasting

Unusual and exciting ex-Forestry Service station, now a contemporary eco lodge with huge windows and terraces for the views

Visit Florence, Arezzo, Siena… or revel in the beauty and peace of Casa Zia, surrounded by wilderness and lovely birdsong

A niftily restored, open-plan, beamed hayloft, just the ticket for romantics, with gorgeous views of fields and open countryside

Elegant, calm, charming B&B in a 12th-century house surrounded by fields, quiet country roads and vibrant little villages