Ascot is a trot down the road and there's a really cosy, cottagey feel to this quaint 18th-century inn with great food and comfy bedrooms

Three gîtes in the Dordogne with panoramic countryside views and a swimming pool – book individually or together for a group holiday

An incredible living museum, dedicated to the history of Sicily and the arts. Stay in the main house or in a cottage in the fecund garden

Fringing Tuscany countryside and fun Montone, an authentic Umbrian mansion with Slow Food, lavender fields, apartments and pool. Pure Italy

A grand yet cosy and relaxing farmhouse where you're encouraged to feel at home. Tasty home baking, charming rooms and a friendly host

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Bedrooms with terraces and views over St Michael’s Mount Bay. Explore the gardens; walk from the door to glorious beaches

A compact eco-serene bolthole in bustling Modica's historic heart with glorious views over the baroque rooftops. Beaches are 20 minutes away

Treat yourselves to a seamless stay in this 255-year-old manor house with dreamy gardens, sumptuous bedrooms, sparkling pool and spa

Retreat to a classically styled, elegant apartment for four - private and peaceful - in a characterful, super-central area of Rome

An immaculate stable retreat surrounded by gardens near Canterbury. Two couples could spend an idyllic week here, or a family of 5

Feel like the lord or lady of the manor at this sublime restoration of a Tudor, timber-framed stone house in lovely Ludlow

Stay in a lovely 18th-century townhouse in one of the prettiest villages on the Loire surrounded by unspoilt countryside

Come to the wild Cévennes to hike, ride, kayak down the Hérault river – or just revel in your pretty, generous house, pool and garden space

An artist's house imbued with an understated elegance. Stay for dinner; be charmed by the garden where fruit trees throng, hens loiter

For walkers and lovers of wildly beautiful coastal country: two cosy old cottages and a bright, modern renovation in a cluster with others