A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

This eco-friendly farmhouse in the hills of Fiesole is 10km from Florence. Good company, superb views of Tuscany, and food for the soul!

A beautiful villa with a medieval tower surrounded by formal gardens, gentle slopes of perfectly maintained vineyards and wooded hilltops

Towering 5 storeys above lively Palermo, a gracious B&B with sunlit rooms, lovely Sicilian hosts and breakfast in fine china on the terrace

A welcoming inn with rooms on the edge of a small village. Stay in a converted barn in the pretty garden, eat delicious country fare

An unbelievably stunning setting for this renovated 15th-century villa with garden on a hillside overlooking the famed Florence skyline

Food grown, foraged and prepared with care, a carefully curated wine list, roaring fires and very comfortable bedrooms to sink into

A renovated barn, part stone, part wood, resembling the tobacco barns of the area with beautiful grounds surrounded by farmland

The views are green, both cottages are homely and comfortable and the gardens have direct access to the riverbank footpath for walks

A very romantic and peaceful Umbrian hideaway just for two with delicious breakfasts and wonderful views from house and pool

Imperious old coaching inn lost in deep country with a river to fish, five-mile views, delicious rooms and some very tasty food

Take breakfast on the terrace, splash in the fabulous pool. A secluded, friendly, immaculate villa close to golf and surfing beaches

Come for an exceptionally inviting 17th-century inn, a chocolate-box Cotswold village, excellent local food and ales, very comfortable rooms

Stylish sustainability in star-hung Alicante with solar power, gorgeous rooms and a pool. Authentic breakfasts and dinners await

On a farmstead near Ronda where views stretch for miles are 2 houses, one old, one new, brilliant for families, sharing a fabulous pool

A nicely priced inn on Shaftesbury's high street with a warm contemporary style and some excellent food – fine local walking waits

Provençal charm floats through the ground floor of this 18th-century home in a vineyard near Lorgues. Walk, cycle, swim, enjoy the peace

A fin-de-siècle Franco-Scottish décor for this hospitable, entertaining B&B, in the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter