High-up, simple apartments, pools with fabulous views; kids play-things and donkeys, the glittering coast, Rapallo and Portofino down below

A picture-perfect village and a beautifully refurbished 17th-century inn with a cracking bar, stylish bedrooms and delicious pub food

A treat in any season, a place to stir your soul, yield to nature and learn how to play again - with a pretty fine roost to come home to

You’ll find Norfolk ales, French wines and a hint of eccentricity at this old-school inn, where local food and comfy beds keep you smiling

In a chocolate-box village just an hour on the train, and a short hop in a taxi, from London is this foodie inn with pretty bedrooms

Rustic, quirky and layered with history, this is an exquisite slice of traditional Sicilian life, with welcoming and generous hosts

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

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

A wisteria-laden pergola shades the sunny side of the farmhouse - in gentle olive country near the Sibillini Park, not far from the Adriatic

Dinner fresh from the garden with your creative hosts is an absolute delight. Roam unspoilt countryside, visit châteaux and vineyards galore

A trulli hamlet immersed in nature, on the wilder side of Puglia with visits to white-washed hilltop towns and cooking with Nonna Maria

An 18th-century fisherman's cottage with garden at the end of a cobbled row, for happy seaside holidays with superb beaches nearby

A small hotel with gorgeous interiors, friendly staff, spacious rooms, a proper library, pretty garden and a relaxed, homely feel

An absolute peach of an apartment on the first floor of this iconic building with stunning views over the harbour and St Michael's Mount

A gem of a house in a lovely unspoilt village with an intelligent, interesting owner who gives you delicious food and local wines

Stay a while... lulled by lapping sea and fragrant hanging gardens - cool, light, balconied, classic, intimate, unpretentious

Beautiful Noto is 4 miles from the Ionian Sea, and this creative renovation, with lush garden, stands above the throng. Heaven in Sicily

What a surprise! Tucked into a row of tightly woven old cottages is this contemporary open-plan hideaway with huge windows and much flair