Once a lofty edifice for music recitals, now an original place to stay - with stained-glass windows, a bed on a stage and wild gardens

Superb, all-organic agriturismo built of straw bales and offering wonderful home-grown natural food, a delightful family, great walking

Straight out of a fairy tale, a rustic cottage by a babbling brook: a magical escape for couples, the craggy coast in easy reach

Perfect luxury in deepest Normandy: gorgeous gardens, a heavenly pool, and interiors worthy of an art gallery

Superb rural views, excellent hiking and generous bedrooms. Cristina and Alec take good care of guests - the food is delicious

The perfect country cottage made of pretty Quercy stone, with generously sized rooms and outside dining with gorgeous rural views

Hospitable Jorge and Clotilde love nothing more than sharing their colourful, chaotic old house with guests. The farm produce is fabulous

Welcoming Julia fans passions for Arlesienne cuisine and culture in her art-stuffed Provence home where everything catches the eye!

A lovely old house and rambling garden in a medieval village with a monumental château, 12th-century church and a good local restaurant

A swishly renovated detached hideaway up a hill, surrounded by vineyards and with a covered deck for sweeping views just outside Beaune

A gem of a house in a lovely unspoilt village with an intelligent, interesting owner who gives you delicious food and local wines

In château parkland, 10 minutes from Chinon, find books, beams and open spaces for three renovated houses, a delight for families

It's quiet among the lavender plants... bees humming, sun shining. Splash in the shared pool, visit lovely villages, taste local wines

A sweet little gîte for two in the centre of a dreamy medieval village. Happily private but with loads to explore from your door

Comfortable redbrick cottage with views on the Heydon Hall estate. It’s delightfully rural, yet close to Reepham for pubs and shops

Enter through an impressive stone arch to discover this 16th-century fortified manor house with a gorgeous communal dining and seating area

Swim with frogs in the freshwater pool, breakfast in the sunshine, play boules by moonlight. Châteaux don't get much more rural

This old stone building, a former olive warehouse, is beautifully restored and sits on its own – a simple bolthole for rest and recuperation