Luxurious living combines with bleating sheep and bells from the church next door - 4 fabulous retreats on the Cotentin Peninsula

Take your time here. Lucy will take you round her wonderful garden, introduce you to her donkeys, and share her laid-back approach

A big, beamed contemporary barn filled with light and surrounded by unspoilt countryside for a romantic retreat.

A hop from St Mark’s Square, this long-standing hotel - a delightful family affair - could not be better placed for exploring Venice

Once a coach house, now a split-level place to stay – you can walk to the river and it's just a short hop to central London

Grand and old and filled with history, the estate and such a pretty house are a tonic, as are the well-tended grounds and parkland

Comfortable bolthole for 2–6 in the heart of the city. Shops and restaurants on the doorstep, a short drive from the coast and South Downs

A 200-year-old cortijo in a totally tranquil spot with gated pool, two acres of grounds, an orchard and olive terraces with mountain views

Live out all your bohemian dreams at this arty villa, with garden and plunge pool, perched above the glittering Riviera.

A bright and spacious cottage set against a backdrop of woodland for days spent happily reading by the wood-burner or lunch on the sun deck

Everything you’d want of a lovely country inn – pretty rooms, tasty food, local ales in a beamed bar and fabulous walking

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

Surrounded by delightful gardens, these gîtes are serene retreats from which you can discover the Dordogne, or gently unwind

Unusual and exciting ex-Forestry Service station, now a contemporary eco lodge with huge windows and terraces for the views

Stylish B&B rooms in a peaceful little château, amongst rolling hills, woods and farmland - bikes and boules to borrow, lovely pool to share

Stylish bedrooms, scrumptious fish menu. Fill your boots (and pack your wellies) at this village gem in Derbyshire's lovely crown

A lovely listed cottage, just stumbling distance from a good pub in a quiet village surrounded by spectacular walking and cycling country

A lovely gîte, once a hunting lodge, with two private terraces overlooking the manicured gardens of an 1830s manor house