Close to Girona, with huge valley views! Cosy fires for cool days, shady corners for hot ones, lovely people, and the food a revelation

A spacious farmhouse with a pool in the grounds of a stately château. Wander the walled garden, explore the countryside and pretty villages

By a bubbling brook in the Mendips, close to Bath and Bristol, a wonderfully revived and welcoming inn with smart rooms and scrumptious food

Beautifully connected, engagingly old-fashioned London pad, with a garden. Head out for Vauxhall Park, the Tate, Westminster...

A relaxed hilltop escape with good food, a pretty garden and fine views of the Dales and the river Wharfe – bring your dog too

A majestic renovation of a Victorian 'model' farm with underfloor heating, open plan design, light bright lines and not a whiff of IKEA

Books, meadow flowers, a rocking chair by a cosy fire at this treasure-trove cottage of beautiful things - down tiny lanes in west Cork

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 rustic and elegant farmhouse retreat in Provence with a pool, vineyards and wildlife-filled pond – a launchpad for the Luberon

An old chapel, smartly and sustainably converted, with a hot tub to soothe tired limbs after country walks through fells and dales

View-filled apartments in Ortigia, the heart of Siracusa. Immerse yourself in the blue of the Ionian Sea; walk to culture, shops and restaurants

Traditional accommodation and organic food; handy for Bari but set peacefully in the countryside near Toritto, famed for its almonds

A neat, recently restored townhouse inside Panicale's medieval walls with plenty of space and everything within walking distance

Atmospheric English pub with rooms by the green with its duck ponds in a pretty village, with walking and cycling routes to join

Up in the hills, with Hay Bluff towering beside, this old stone house is sheltered in the valley with the brook rushing past to a waterfall

A warm family and starlit suppers in a grand estate by Soller, near wildflower walks and beaches. Citrus mingles with exotic fragrances

Deep in Calvados near vibrant Caen, a cider barn with stylish bedrooms, quirky objets, a bar in the salon. Charming hosts welcome families

5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace