Three comfortable stone houses clustered around the owners' home. Glorious views spread out below you across rolling countryside

Gaze over to glorious Curemonte from the pretty cottage, loll by the pool, play games in the barn. Bring friends and book the main house too

A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

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

An exquisitely restored 500-year-old inn, where the accent is very much on food, reared and grown nearby and with very comfortable rooms

A swishly renovated detached hideaway up a hill, surrounded by vineyards and with a covered deck for sweeping views just outside Beaune

Come to shed your city cares, eat wonderful local food, spend time in simple, authentic surroundings and remind yourselves about serenity

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

Feel French in this very beautiful 300-year-old house with a large garden and pool in a hilltop medieval village of winding, cobbled streets

Old beams and rich history: a dramatic setting for fireside chats, superb breakfasts (home-reared, baked, grown) - and Midsomer Murders

Sweep along the gravel drive through lawns and specimen trees to this elegant manor house with 17th-century roots

Lodge and gardens – superbly designed, immaculate, fresh, eco friendly – rest in unspoilt Picardy. Anglo-French hosts take turns to cook

Beauty, charm and tranquillity an hour from Florence, on a bio-sensitive farm known for Chianina cattle and white truffles

A rare treat to stay in this lovely stone farmhouse in the Durham Dales with acres of private farmland and magical interiors by Rita Konig

Laze under the loggia, drink in superb, sweeping Umbrian views and wine from the vines beyond the pool; sleep peacefully in grand style

Two spruce spaces for couples in peaceful Cornish countryside; it’s an easy drive to gardens, both coastlines and good eateries

Come for a traffic-free medieval hamlet in sleepy Maremma with easy-going hosts, a beautiful garden and views over the valley

A lodge and a cottage on an ancient wine estate, thoughtfully and eco-consciously converted with private outdoor spaces and a saltwater pool