A recently renovated and very comfortable stand-alone limestone cottage with fabulous views on the edge of the Easton Walled Gardens

Countryside and seaside all in one go – what could be more inspiring? Lovely Louisa lives down the road, on hand if you need her

Two comfortably converted farm buildings, with a shared pool on a gentle south-east sloping vineyard with wonderful views

Anouk & Gilles have fine-tuned their welcome. Lounge by the pool and dine exquisitely within their landscaped park

In the gardens of a laid-back country house, a barn with books, games, faded rugs and a grand piano – a treat for convivial families

Get to know Lisbon with ease from this generous and comfortable townhouse hotel bang in the middle of the city centre

A light, bright Georgian townhouse in a residential street directly opposite the lovely Lido and restaurant, near Clifton Village

Bring boots, maps, your dog and an appetite for high places and deep comfort in this restored farm conversion

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

Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

A contemporary rooftop room in a warmly civilised B&B filled with books and lovely things – stunning view too

Medieval manor house and busy farm. A welcoming atmosphere, big bedrooms, breakfast in the baronial great hall by the cosy log fire

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

A sophisticated and friendly Basque beauty overlooking the Bay of Biscay, in Txakoli vineyard country – prepare to be thoroughly spoilt

A stunning château with huge rooms, pretty balconies with views, peaceful garden. Super owners, excellent dinners - and child-friendly too

A cosy and pretty old cottage for rest or romance, with garden and pool in a small hamlet surrounded by walnut orchards and mixed woodland

A bright, light newly built annexe flat adjoining a farmhouse and sitting on a hill looking out over a lake and fields beyond to the village

Gloriously cool in summer, cosy in winter, a 365-day-a-year retreat. Just a 10-minute promenade along the beach into the fun heart of town