A picture-perfect village and a beautifully refurbished 17th-century inn with a cracking bar, stylish bedrooms and delicious pub food

Three comfortable stone houses clustered around the owners' home. Glorious views spread out below you across rolling countryside

Lovely old manor house and clever garden with a relaxed, happy vibe and home-baked or homegrown treats on arrival and at breakfasts

A beautiful villa with a medieval tower surrounded by formal gardens, gentle slopes of perfectly maintained vineyards and wooded hilltops

Blissful tranquillity - yet an easy drive from St Paul de Vence (legendary haunt of Matisse and Picasso) and 10km from the Riviera

Treat yourselves to some downtime at this lush, semi-tropical hideaway with big pool, delicious breakfasts and charmingly rustic bedrooms

An elegant townhouse, built in 1830 and once the sous-préfecture for Rochefort, with spacious, light-filled rooms and a garden with pool

If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Peaceful escape for couples in the grounds of a stately Tudor manor house; watch the wildlife from your garden, explore the nearby coast

In the heart of the East Sussex countryside, a fun community inn, with rustic-historic bedrooms, scrumptious food, and a great welcome for dogs

Off the beaten track and into the hills – this remote, unknown bird-filled region is faultless for outdoorsy people

Your friendly hosts offer you stylish bedrooms, swims in the heated pool, and wonderful dinners and wines. Cahors is only a 10-minute drive

Another bright, beamed and history-filled place to stay on the smart Upton Cressett estate with walks from the door and much comfort within

Three luxurious apartments sleeping up to 10 people altogether, set within an elegant Georgian manor house in the Wye Valley AONB

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

In a chocolate-box village just an hour on the train, and a short hop in a taxi, from London is this foodie inn with pretty bedrooms

A lovely old 19th-century inn by the sea with hand-pumped ales, fresh local and seasonal food and spoiling bedrooms, some with sea views

On a farmstead near Ronda where views stretch for miles are 2 houses, one old, one new, brilliant for families, sharing a fabulous pool