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

A beautifully restored townhouse in the heart of Amboise, steps from Leonardo da Vinci's last home and the great Château Royal

Traditional family-run hotel with sitting rooms galore, award-winning food and Snowdon views. High teas and games room for children too

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

A beguiling retreat for a couple or a family of four – feel cosy and secluded in a thatched cottage close to the coast

A small, rural cottage high in the wooded hills with long views, your own private pool, utter peace and quiet and a superb restaurant nearby

There's a lovely welcome at this manoir near the sea with its family-friendly room arrangements (cottages, kitchens) and its outdoor pool

Take your pick from guided horse-trekking to grand banqueting at this traditional château; drive to explore WWI history and the lovely coast

A glorious château near Tours – authentic, huge fun, steeped in family history and surrounded by gorgeous gardens with a serene pool

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

Bags of character within and without at this four-storey village house with rooftop views over the mountains, next to a 12th-century church

Encircled by wild dales and rugged fells, this spoiling cottage cocoons you in countryside peace with the added fun of a sauna in the garden

Bring family or friends to this beautiful 16th-century stone manor house standing in a tiny hamlet in the heart of the Dordogne

Rural French heaven at this lovely farm within four hectares. Natural materials, neutral colours and a lavender-lined pool all to yourselves

An attractive, seaside hotel with an airy, contemporary feel - chic interiors, an excellent restaurant and big sea views await

Come for an exceptionally inviting 17th-century inn, a chocolate-box Cotswold village, excellent local food and ales, very comfortable rooms

A hideaway for two on an old farm, gifted to The National Trust for Jersey, with a pretty walled garden and circled by verdant countryside

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