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

Historic buildings by a turreted manor house, beautifully renovated to welcome large parties with grounds to roam and dreamy river views

Visit Florence, Arezzo, Siena… or revel in the beauty and peace of Casa Zia, surrounded by wilderness and lovely birdsong

Technically in Florence yet immersed in the Tuscan hills: easy comfort, country character, warm wonderful hosts, heavenly views

A gorgeous inn lost in lush country with hammocks in the garden, sofas in the drawing room and lovely local food in the popular restaurant

By a bubbling brook in the Mendips, close to Bath and Bristol, a wonderfully revived and welcoming inn with smart rooms and scrumptious food

Come for gloriously independent B&B in your own cosy retreat with a belter of a breakfast brought to your door and plenty of local walks

Come to this cosy barn down a winding lane for a back-to-nature escape: hike the Black Mountains, splash in the stream, gaze at the views

Exposed beams and stone walls mix with modern art and minimalism to give a warm yet uncluttered luxury. Stylish yet relaxing

Fine linens, cool pool and a barbecue for this soothing barn renovation in a dreamy corner of Tuscany. Friendly owners can cook on request

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

Submerge yourself in a magical landscape of sky, water and hills from this well-thought-out retreat, where silence reigns and peace is deep

An ancient thatched cottage near Dartmoor with a warming log fire in winter and flowers inside and out in the summer

Get away from it all in 'old' France, where melons taste like melons & hikes start from the door. This rural bolthole is a serious treat

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

A modern, architect-designed renovation of a 19th-century building, sitting in harmony with nature yet only a short drive from Bordeaux