Chiara’s blissfully informal hillside home is a hard place to leave... Guests can get involved with cookery courses or the olive harvest

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily

Rooms are good value, breakfast is taken overlooking the garden and there's superb veggie food next door - a Sawday's Community Champion

Light, airy rooms for couples in an Asturian villa - home-baked breads, organic dinners and lovely country walks, 40 minutes from coast

A taste of old Italy in this off-the-beaten-track rustic house on three levels, exquisitely restored and with elegant designer furnishings

A friendly, generous, big old house with not an ounce of pretension. Big families will adore gathering here to have fun and unwind

An oh-so-special B&B in Palermo's ancient heart. This city at the edge of Europe, with its Arab-Norman-Byzantine heritage, is fascinating

Perched on a hillside between mountains and sea is this charming house in a modern Spanish style, engulfed by a beautiful garden with views

B&B rooms, some with kitchenettes, in a lush garden setting with a river running behind. The pretty village is on your doorstep

A cheery farmhouse conversion for groups outside a village in a non-touristy part of Italy, close to scenic trails and medieval villages

Cosy and comfortable eco cottages near to sleepy Sidmouth, where grown-ups can relax and children can play safely in the gardens

This shuttered, stone maison in Gascony on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrims' route is a joy for families to spend time together

Live like a local. Art lovers, book lovers and walkers will be happy here above an art gallery in the centre of town

Light-filled retreat full of character and vintage finds, with handmade touches and farm-fresh produce on your doorstep

A smart village local with original timber frames, a lively bar, elegant rooms and delicious food from the fields around you

Cast yourselves away to this beautiful island and a bright, spacious apartment with a rooftop terrace bang in the middle of the town square

Come to recharge in the lovely Loire valley at this fine château surrounded by mature gardens and green countryside