Chill under poolside palm trees or lose yourself in novels on super comfy armchairs. Funchal with its colourful markets is within easy reach

A fine designer house and pool above the coastal hurly-burly and one of the loveliest coves in Spain, backing onto a nature park. Happy hols

A hop from the Côte d'Azur is this elegant home: bring friends, explore the garden, curl up on the sofa, dip in the heated pool

Glorious views of Derwentwater and Skiddaw from this comfortable house. Art dotted about, a big table for chatty meals and a pretty garden

Gloriously cool in summer, cosy in winter, a 365-day-a-year retreat. Just a 10-minute promenade along the beach into the fun heart of town

At the foot of the Cambrian Mountains, an ancient whitewashed cottage with cosy, light-flooded interiors – a perfect rural bolthole for two

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

Hospitable Jorge and Clotilde love nothing more than sharing their colourful, chaotic old house with guests. The farm produce is fabulous

A sweet bolthole around a courtyard on a smallholding, extremely comfortable, bright and spacious inside and with a communal garden

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

Sumptuous suites arranged around a sunny internal courtyard inside an ancient monastery - an intimate sanctuary for those who seek comfort