Delightful little antique-filled cottage with large walled garden and an allotment near Versailles. Gardeners will be happy

Traditional and modern mix beautifully and bedrooms are quietly elegant. Relax and drink in the views over orchards and the Sierra Nevada

A rare treat, 700 metres above sea level and girdled by forests, waterfalls, chestnuts and olives, this is the place to come for solace

It's quiet among the lavender plants... bees humming, sun shining. Splash in the shared pool, visit lovely villages, taste local wines

High in the heavenly hills is this very smartly converted farm building, with underfloor heating, much glass, wood and exposed brickwork

Peaceful Highland hideaway on a wooded lochside: spy dolphins and otters, stargaze, and soak up the deep silence

Come for serene countryside, walks through bird-filled woods and this lovely old house with gracious hosts and very beautiful bedrooms

Everything you’d want of a lovely country inn – pretty rooms, tasty food, local ales in a beamed bar and fabulous walking

Country house set in a secluded valley in a nature reserve with a pool & walks from the door. The small town of Jabugo is just over the hill

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

A beautiful little house in a corner of the garden: walk for miles or just to the local pub, barbecue on the deck with its rural views

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

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

A proper old-fashioned inn dating from the 1600s with beamed ceilings, low doorways and winding staircases up to comfortable bedrooms

A comfortable and light-filled converted stone barn in the pretty Vendée, a quiet and rural spot but just half a mile from town

Close to the honeypots of Domme and Sarlat, a hideaway for 2 in an ancient French hamlet. The apartment is serene, the views are glorious

A peaceful, beautiful place to wake up in and to return to after glorious walks, with no near neighbours apart from curious sheep

For lovers of tranquillity and simple pleasures with a private pool, tennis court, stunning views and forty acres to explore