Unadulterated elegance awaits at this gorgeous, ancient Tuscan house with large marble swimming pool, stunning gardens and dreamy views

A classic French beauty of a place; home to an engaging young family who love to entertain and look after you with great care

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

Luxurious living combines with bleating sheep and bells from the church next door - 4 fabulous retreats on the Cotentin Peninsula

Eco-friendly B&B overlooking Lake Como with marvellous mountain and lake views. Heaps of space, generous hosts, a menagerie of animals

A harmonious B&B in Chinon wine country. Home-cooked food, comfortable beds, easy conservations with your host and starry skies at night

A welcoming retreat with lofty rooms, a sunny garden and the perfect plunge pool. Come for slow days and wine country adventures

Rustic, sophisticated, relaxed, charming… ancient Follonico is all these things, and gazes on the loveliest hills in Tuscany

Another bright, beamed and history-filled place to stay on the smart Upton Cressett estate with walks from the door and much comfort within

Glamour, warmth and style in a renovated wine warehouse in a cool quarter of Bordeaux - France’s most popular city after Paris

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

Be inspired by hilltop views, unwind in beamed rooms by huge fireplaces or scramble down to the beach for family adventures

The sort of inn we all love – open fires, original beams, ancient flags, tasty food, with lovely bedrooms thrown in for good measure

A large, attractive 18th-century house with sweeping lawns, outdoor seating areas and two free-standing baths by an ivy-clad wall

An elegant, super central bolthole for two (or three): stroll everywhere, hop on a vaporetto, sit in piazzas drinking cappuccino, live like a local

An old chapel, smartly and sustainably converted, with a hot tub to soothe tired limbs after country walks through fells and dales

Agriturismo at its best - delightful hosts, communal meals of superb home-grown food, homely rooms, a garden filled with fragrant flowers...

For families who love a Great British beach holiday, this beach-side cottage on Hayling Island near Portsmouth is just the ticket