Five tranquil apartments surrounded by Tuscan countryside just over half an hour's drive from Siena - hire them all for a group holiday

You'll feel relaxed in this big light-filled house with plunge pool and outdoor cinema; walk along the river with Portugal on the other side

Warm family hospitality, magnificent surroundings, bedroom breakfasts, candlelit dinners and elegant windows overlooking the park

Blissful tranquillity - yet an easy drive from St Paul de Vence (legendary haunt of Matisse and Picasso) and 10km from the Riviera

A wonderful place to stay whether you enjoy golf or not, with big skies, sea views, sumptuous bedrooms, delicious food and attentive staff

Comfortable bolthole for 2–6 in the heart of the city. Shops and restaurants on the doorstep, a short drive from the coast and South Downs

A delight to stay in this 1880s croft house on the quieter west coast - fabulous vegetarian and vegan food, thoughtful rooms, lovely owners

An elegant French château brimming with antiques and surrounded by landscaped lawns. Enjoy convivial dinners with the perfect host

A light, bright village house with a courtyard garden - 5 minutes from Cabo da Roca where the sunsets and views are spectacular

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

Mont Blanc looms large over this alpine chalet in quiet Les Tines, a stone’s throw from Chamonix and miles of mountain trails

A cosy cottage in the southern Eyri (Snowdonia) National Park with dogs welcome, beaches nearby and wonderful walking all around

Hike the Wild Boar Fells, get cosy at home with books, games and DVDs, and meet the farm’s hens, cows and sheep

Bold, bright decor within the 19th-century walls of this pretty courtyard cottage, with a hot tub and long views over parkland and lake

A truly special barn conversion, flooded with light and with its own decked outdoor space surrounded by bucolic countryside

A cosy cottage on a farm down a long winding track, wonderfully rural with footpaths across fields or along the canal

In a hamlet in the Loire countryside is a friendly estate with a family-sized gite, a shared saltwater pool and heaps of old-world charm