A charming comfy cottage with wood burner, delicious hilly views, walks radiating from the door. We didn’t want to leave!

Nestled next to the main house, this feels part cottage and part townhouse, making a cosy retreat just a couple of miles from the coast

A cosy nest on the ramparts of an ancient fishing port, with sparkling lagoon views from a top-floor living area

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

5 houses near Siena to make design-lovers happy; come for the rural solitude of ancient stone farm buildings with urban interiors

Chatty Madame is a superb cook, and her pretty house and garden in a quiet Yvelines village are equally delicious. Zip to Paris by train

Achingly trendy, a design-lover's dream with infinity pool, wine on the terrace, pampering spa and a sunny bay at your feet – stunning

Spacious bedrooms, friendly hosts and a classic English country house in a peaceful hamlet with walks from the doorstep

In off-the-beaten-track Tuscany, 2 peaceful apartments in a former haybarn, both carefully renovated with antique furniture

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

Vineyards, fruit trees and immaculate gardens, amazing food and wine, a sense of seclusion and sweeping views of the Tuscan hills

Former blacksmith’s workshop in a chocolate-box corner of the New Forest, where clematis climbs the trellis and all you hear are the birds

Peaceful small hotel in a hiker's paradise a short walk from Cómpeta-Malaga with winter sunshine and endless views over mountains and sea

In a sleepy village near Oxford, a characterful 17th-century inn with contemporary flair, seasonal menus and a terrace for summer music

One of Scotland’s coolest hotels waits at the end of a four-mile track - you find loch, mountain and sky, and Tom’s fabulous food

In the glorious Howardian Hills, a homely cottage with an open fire for chilly nights and a lovely, country-style kitchen filled with light

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside