Heaps to do on-site: organic farm shop & café, cookery & cheese-making courses, farm tours. A brilliant base for exploring the Cotswolds too

Perched in gorgeous gardens and with stunning views, this 18th-century presbytery has lovely rooms and an excellent gourmet restaurant

A 200-year-old cortijo in a totally tranquil spot with gated pool, two acres of grounds, an orchard and olive terraces with mountain views

Like staying in a family home, only with Henri III furniture and rolling green views. Energetic hosts cook, farm, hunt, chat over champagne

The Gautiers have the finest sense of how to treat guests: dreamy bedrooms, fantastic food & the pool beneath the orange trees is a delight

Wrapped in fields and woods, this big traditional house has crisply furnished interiors and plenty of gadgets. Terraced gardens and pool too

Wisteria, clematis and roses clamber up this pretty stone barn conversion with its own big garden surrounded by mature trees and many birds

Perthshire country house with contemporary touches. Deer, red squirrels, tawny owls... and the river Tay glints way below through the trees

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

A rustic gem with a rich history, a domed chapel and a fountain in the courtyard. Dine superbly, choose from an extensive wine list

A large handsome 1800s manor, now a peaceful haven for free-range families and creative types on the edge of vibrant Richelieu in the Loire

In the shadow of a Norman château on the Cherbourg Peninsula, a cosy house for three with private parking and restaurants outside the door

Dreamy, divine and close to Borghetto, a romantic escape for nature lovers, city folk... with swans, geese, herons and frog chorus

Enjoy southern life in a charming palazzo in Trapani. Come for coastal drives and baroque basilica, hand-twirled pasta and fresh calamari

A 15th-century courtyard hides a petite contemporary apartment – a fabulous base from which to explore the city and all its treasures

Airy, spacious, sunny. This Lot gîte is a delight: linen curtains, oak stair, sunny pool. Sarlat and painted caves are an easy venture away

Come to walk, cycle, fish and hunker down in style in front of the wood-burner - sleep in deep comfort in a lovingly converted barn

Settle in, relax, enjoy the local food - walk the dramatically beautiful coast path, explore rich West Wales from this handsome old house