A confident style for this mid-19th-century house, with a Mediterranean garden, elegant terrace and pool, a stroll from the historic centre

Step through a door in an old wooden gate to discover a courtyard garden on the edge of town close to golden sands

Two duplex apartments filled with art and sculptures inside a beautiful 18th-century orangery, minutes from magnificent Versailles

A sparkling house for two overlooking azure waters, starry skies and Stromboli’s light show - that’ll do nicely grazie

Explore ‘Green Provence’ on e-bikes, enjoy the pool and calm of a Mediterranean garden surrounded by vineyards. Return to a delicious dinner

Idyllic cottage hidden in deepest, foodiest Somerset - bask on your own patio among roses and sweet peas. Bring bikes - loads to explore

A dog-friendly cottage in a tranquil village, formerly the bakery, now restored to perfection with oodles of space and much comfort

A perfectly renovated farmhouse in the grounds of a delightful château deep in the Normandy countryside, with a lovely walled garden

Gorgeously rural pub with rooms nestled in a leafy Somerset valley: sweet bedrooms, fantastic menus, and charming owners. Dog friendly, too

Gite retreats in château grounds - welcoming and wonderful for young families. Build castles in the sandpit, make friends around the pool

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

5 houses near Siena to make design-lovers happy; come for the rural solitude of ancient stone farm buildings with urban interiors

Comfortable apartment steeped in Breton history, in a beautifully renovated gabarier’s house overlooking the marine estuary

Glorious views of Derwentwater and Skiddaw from this comfortable house. Art dotted about, a big table for chatty meals and a pretty garden

Walkers, bikers, families and nature fans will love staying with ever-helpful Joan and Montse in this secluded but not too remote valley

Jagged Dolomite peaks frame every view from this farmhouse with two neat apartments – come sun or snow, adventures in nature await

Tucked at the bottom of a long track and surrounded by a gorgeous natural landscape, is this generous end-slice of a 17th-century stone farm

A very swish 1610 house, thoroughly refurbished, in the heart of old Chichester with oodles of space and a surprisingly large garden