Retreat to a classically styled, elegant apartment for four - private and peaceful - in a characterful, super-central area of Rome

Charming half-timbered house at the start of the Alsace wine route, with spacious rooms, tempting breakfast and a swimming pool

This architect-designed passive style house sits just behind the sand dunes at Waxham beach, one of Norfolk’s most lovely beaches

Gracious Florentine hospitality, elegance and comfort, gazebo breakfasts, a flower-filled garden with pool and views of olive groves

Serious art, lovely lighting, great sound system and a fat wood-burner belting out the heat at this super place for families or friends

A cottage for two on a wonderfully eco wine school and vineyard. Gaze at magnificent views from your terrace

A pleasing (not very little) place to stay in the heart of a wood within the unspoilt countryside of the South Downs National Park

Live like a local at these rustic apartments with a shared courtyard; walk to restaurants and shops, take the ferry to the beach

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

An 18th-century cottage for four on a working sheep farm: walk the Pentland Hills, get the bus to Edinburgh for culture

An adorable little 1800s cottage with a garden – simple, unpretentious and filled with the owner's colourful art on walls and lampshades

A renovated bright apartment with lots of space, a hop, skip and jump away from the shingle beach of seaside-jolly Deal

For escapists, wannabe writers and lovers of rural bliss: two boho hideaways for two (four at a squeeze) in this lush corner of Galicia

Spacious bedrooms, friendly hosts and a classic English country house in a peaceful hamlet with walks from the doorstep

A rural farmhouse B&B with view-filled bedrooms, hearty breakfasts and walks from the door. The Dowies are generous hosts

Colourful coastal apartments and studios where you can be nicely independent, and enjoy a communal café and health club with Art Deco pool

An inviting B&B on a terraced Fulham street: greats hosts, a big, tranquil suite and continental breakfast in the courtyard on sunny days

A family-run 1700s thatched Inn in a rural hamlet with super food, a grand team to look after you and picnic benches in a pretty garden