Modest and authentic, a top-floor apartment in an eco-friendly Provençal farmhouse, with dogs and hens. River swims are a stroll away...

High in Ávila's unspoilt nature is this stylish, eco-brilliant family hotel: mountains, massages, pool, organic dinners... a special escape

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

Contemporary boathouse for all the family. Find rock pools, a shingle beach and plenty of ozone in the salty Cornish air

A gem of a house; spacious, warm and hidden in a lush garden. Get together with friends to explore medieval villages and the Costa Brava

In a hamlet in the Loire countryside is a friendly estate with a family-sized gite, a shared saltwater pool and heaps of old-world charm

A renovated bright apartment with lots of space, a hop, skip and jump away from the shingle beach of seaside-jolly Deal

Pluck grapes, splash in the child-shallow pool and explore the ‘Yorkshire of Italy’ with rolling green hills and conical trulli

Four gîtes in the château’s vast barn, one in the tower. Magnificent mountain and valley views, and Sandrine’s regionally inspired meals

Your own apartment in a listed manor house with lovely light rooms and stunning grounds with views over farmland to the coast and Lundy

Lovingly renovated farmhouse amid vines and sunflowers, deep in the Charente countryside - small pool in garden, beaches 45 minutes away.

Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Enjoy so much space in this 18th-century paper mill with uncluttered interiors and surrounded by forests, rivers and lush countryside - yet only a stone's throw away from the local bastide towns

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

A 1750 one-storey former farm building, beautifully converted into a lovely hideaway for walkers, nature lovers and peace seekers

Come to be cosseted in this gloriously peaceful retreat among beautiful gardens with much old-fashioned charm and excellent food

Apartments with a designer touch in a peaceful, evocative setting; private gardens, intimate terraces, infinity pool, stunning lake views and a gourmet restaurant