A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

A warm and convivial place steeped in French history with an interesting, kind host who really looks after you. Under an hour from Paris too

A lovely, rambling old house for family gatherings with an extra cottage for bigger groups, a gorgeous garden and hilltop villages nearby

A fine designer house and pool above the coastal hurly-burly and one of the loveliest coves in Spain, backing onto a nature park. Happy hols

A romantic creekside cottage down a web of narrow lanes in a tumbling green valley – mess about on the water to your heart’s content

A handsome old country manor house in the heart of the Loire castles surrounded by parkland, forests, lakes, small hamlets, vineyards and châteaux

Great for gatherings of family and friends: fine views, a good big kitchen, games room and pool; nearby caves and castles to explore

Gracious hosts pamper guests in their family mansion, with a wellness spa, fire-warmed lounge and four-course meals from a talented chef

Feel right at home in a thatched farmhouse on South Pool Creek, with cottage garden views, great breakfasts and a good local pub

Return to warming fires after hiking in Ireland's highest mountains. Two traditional cottages on the outskirts of pretty Killorglin

A delightful harled stone and wood house yards from the sea with glorious hills behind, for walkers, dreamers, nature lovers and adventurers

A lovely, spacious 1830s house in the heart of arty Westport with nearly an acre of garden, an apple orchard and the river running past

Gather family in this big, beautiful barn for treks on hidden trails and picnics in the wildflower meadow. Set your watch by the wildlife

Come for strawberries in summer, walnuts in winter, and a wonderful welcome all year round. Thierry and Charlotte are living their dream

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

High in the Tuscan hills, at the end of an avenue of cypresses, surrounded by parkland and acres of olives... a 13th-century dream

A light, bright and peaceful 18th-century palazzo in a very quiet town, with a sea-view terrace, peaceful bedrooms and delicious breakfasts

Immerse yourself in sentiment and romance at Valeria’s charming Veronese villa. The walls sing with framed opera programmes and music scores