If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

Elegance and ease mark this gentle group of Loire-Valley buildings, with soft-textured interiors and the owners’ fine hospitality and food

Find gilded mirrors, rich brocades, Fragonard toiletries and an unexpected roof terrace at this 6-bedroom guest house near St Mark’s Square

A dramatic house with stylish interiors – designed to bring the outdoors in so you feel wrapped in nature. Great for families or friends

A pub with rooms in the epicentre of London on trendy Westbourne Grove, a ten-minute stroll from Notting Hill

A beautifully-restored Devon bank barn at the end of a quiet lane in the glorious South Hams, just right for a couple or small family

A classic period property right on the river, perfectly placed to explore the delights of nearby Marlborough

Take a suite with champagne, strawberries and a tower, swim in the saltwater pool, eat a Castilian cocido - unwind in rural peace!

Elegant, calm, charming B&B in a 12th-century house surrounded by fields, quiet country roads and vibrant little villages

A hop to Montpellier, but deep in the countryside: a romantic pad, with Moroccan rugs, ochre-limed walls and bikes to ride into the country

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

A lovely listed cottage, just stumbling distance from a good pub in a quiet village surrounded by spectacular walking and cycling country

A tranquil agriturismo within easy reach of Padua. Superb views of the Euganean Hills, chic bedrooms and fine wine to sample

Rooms are good value, breakfast is taken overlooking the garden and there's superb veggie food next door - a Sawday's Community Champion

In the heart of the East Sussex countryside, a fun community inn, with rustic-historic bedrooms, scrumptious food, and a great welcome for dogs

A fabulous Belle Epoque château with much wow factor set in vast grounds with lawns and lakes, circled by a dense forest

A lofty, spacious feel to this converted barn with stunning views over rolling hills, swooping swallows in summer and an honesty farm shop

Light-filled gites share a lovely pool, with pétanque, ping-pong and bikes to borrow – bring friends and take all three