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

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

A homespun inn with irresistible prices in a tiny village deep in the country - the river Tweed is close, fishing can be arranged

Come with friends for a cookery course, or with the kids, and enjoy the creative feel of the place - and the food! Venice 40 mins by train

A deliciously rural stone house with charmingly simple rustic-chic interiors and saline pool - an hour from Perugia

A renovated Dordogne farmhouse infused with new life, plus a saltwater pool, an ancient fig tree, and Lascaux on the doorstep

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal

A peaceful retreat with yoga and activities to restore and renew, in the Andalusia hills between Granada and the Mediterranean coast

Charming half-timbered house at the start of the Alsace wine route, with spacious rooms, tempting breakfast and a swimming pool

Come for a sense of complete peace surrounded by country and coast with wonderful interiors to boot – a bolthole for two (plus two)

Come for good architecture, thoughtful design and much space for relaxing: swimming, massages, hammam and sauna, beautiful bedrooms

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

A cosy, beautifully refurbished flat in a Georgian house bang in the middle of the unspoilt town with its pretty streets and houses

Enjoy a bucolic setting (hike, ride, cycle) near medieval Vannes, a short hop from the sea – and lively conversation with friendly hosts

Portraits, paintings and a historic look-out tower, pool, gardens and delicious breakfasts... San Fabiano captures everyone’s heart

Gorgeous scenic views from this relaxed and friendly B&B tucked in a tiny hamlet in the Dordogne near Bergerac

Old wooden sleigh beds, check-clothed tables, log fires, a courtyard of centuries-old trees, a claw foot bath. Stacks of character