An elegant palazzo with three swish apartments in the heart of Baroque Salento with a glorious roof terrace, just steps from Piazza Salandra

Come for sumptuous bedrooms, fine dining, colourful gardens and charming staff at this smart hotel and restaurant

Charmingly rambling, inside and out: blazing fires, riotous patterns, oak panelling, a prolific garden and comfortable antique beds

Spacious rooms and a cosy apartment a stone’s throw from Avignon’s historic sights. Retire to the heated pool after a busy day sightseeing

Heart-soaring Pyrenean views, animals roaming, natural materials in simple rural rooms, organic food: it’s a superbly welcoming eco-lodge

Like staying in a family home, only with Henri III furniture and rolling green views. Energetic hosts cook, farm, hunt, chat over champagne

A glorious retreat for nature lovers with a natural swimming pool, bikes to borrow and the timeless soundtrack of the water surrounding you

Come for peace, comfort and beauty in a sunny corner of Provence at the foot of Mont Ventoux. Cafes, market, restaurants a 15-minute stroll!

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

1820s cottage with long views, a lovely garden and generous extras. Alnwick is close and miles of white sandy beaches with dunes

A beautifully-restored Devon bank barn at the end of a quiet lane in the glorious South Hams, just right for a couple or small family

A stylish farm renovation with pools, gym, and flower-filled gardens - find rural tranquillity close to Brittany’s most famous landmarks

Inside, a grand cathedral ceiling, outside, wisteria-covered terrace and pretty pool. Atlantic sands, Cognac and La Rochelle are in reach

Pomegranates, persimmon and figs, the waft of rosemary on the air... we love this old 'mas' 25km from Gordes, in sweet sunny Provence

Ease yourself into a rather more gracious lifestyle from this sweet retreat on a historic estate with gorgeous walled gardens

Understatedly stylish with French antiques, sofas and balconies overlooking town and gardens. A grown-ups' retreat, 200m from the ocean

In pretty Vernon, a peaceful and comfortably large townhouse with roses rambling around the door

An ancient coaching inn opposite the church in the prettiest village – just the ticket for weary travellers who deserve nurturing