Breathe, relax in peaceful Provençal countryside: olives, lavender and budding fruit trees. Aix's lively markets are 10 minutes away

A proper old-fashioned inn dating from the 1600s with beamed ceilings, low doorways and winding staircases up to comfortable bedrooms

Walkers and wild-lifers, here is your place in the Pyrenees. Colour, character, a welcoming family, log fires and delicious home cooking

A cosy and relaxing village inn in the heart of the unspoilt Ebble Valley (wonderful for walkers) with fresh bedrooms and excellent food

Converted barn with the most welcoming owners – the garden and pool are all yours; explore a less touristy part of the Dordogne

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

Beautifully restored historical building in the heart of Vichy, just steps away from the famous Opera House

In peaceful walled gardens, this former convent is a quiet retreat just a stone’s throw from the Riviera coast and the best of Tuscany

Enfolded in gentle Dorset hills and surrounded by trees, a perfect wooden hut for 2 near beaches, River Cottage HQ and many beautiful walks

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

Relaxed, bohemian vibe out in the wilds yet close to civilization. An organic garden and woodland yurt add to the convivial, communal idyll

A magical chateau set in the forested hills of Burgundy with lovely rooms, peaceful walks, home cooking and a merry welcome

A fabulous Belle Epoque château with much wow factor set in vast grounds with lawns and lakes, circled by a dense forest

Gaze on Umbrian hills as the children play, watch the fireflies dance at night. Dine fabulously in Gubbio – or here. Sociable-family bliss

Traditional B&B in a beautiful château bursting with history and surrounded by formal gardens, then farmland and two fine rivers

A light and bright converted milking parlour in a rural idyll with a BBQ hut, a spa overlooked by horses and a shared hot tub

A delightfully Lilliputian Georgian cottage with all mod cons at the end of a terrace just a short walk to shops, cafés and the beach

Walkers, bikers, families and nature fans will love staying with ever-helpful Joan and Montse in this secluded but not too remote valley