Get to know Lisbon with ease from this generous and comfortable townhouse hotel bang in the middle of the city centre

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

Swing off the main road through the village, up into the hills along a narrow track and through a gate, observed by curious sheep

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

Lively renovation for this 18th-century cottage built of local stone and with a large garden in Modbury. Totnes and sandy beaches are close

Tradition and comfort on the border with Wales, a welcoming country-house hotel with warm rooms, pretty gardens and delicious food

10 minutes from La Rochelle, a place of peace and style. From scrumptious breakfasts to a splash in the pool, your hosts are eager to please

Rural retreat, far from the madding crowd. Laze by the infinity pool and take in the views. Inside all is calm and stylish. Stay a while

Peaceful Highland hideaway on a wooded lochside: spy dolphins and otters, stargaze, and soak up the deep silence

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

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 the glorious Peak District and this rural independent pub, with roots in the 12th century, serene bedrooms and toothsome food

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

An expansive and generous 13th-century Catalan farmhouse, restored with verve and colour in the Pyrenees - a wonderful spot for groups

Come for dreamy river views, a lovely garden and this bolthole for two, beautifully renovated inside and out and with a private hot tub

A peaceful grown-up place circled by meadows and woodland with helpful owners next door – a superb spot to explore the south-west

A fortified castle in parkland, built mostly in the 1300s on the Montbazens plateau, near to the stunning Averyon gorges

The living is easy here: laze in the subtropical garden, float in the saltwater pool, let the kids play and meet other guests over dinner