A really friendly French family home, steeped in history and tradition with delicious home-grown food, a lovely garden and peaceful pool

A 16th-century timbered riverside inn with a relaxed, rustic feel, garden cabin rooms with views and fresh seasonal and homegrown food

A grand, 16th-century Breton château complete with dovecote, turret and chapel surrounded by 50 acres of parkland, woods and small lake

You'll feel relaxed in this big light-filled house with plunge pool and outdoor cinema; walk along the river with Portugal on the other side

Designed with style and comfort, peaceful, sophisticated and serene with countryside views. And you have your own lovely pool

A perfectly restored medieval borgo on twin Chianti hilltops, with lavender fields, honey bees and clear views to the Apennines

A stroll from the village, this comfy house in its terraced garden comes with a keen-cook's kitchen, a generous terrace and pool

Plenty of uncluttered easy space both in and out by the private pool - children love the freedom - great wine, food, and cycling country

You get the best of all worlds here. Delicious beds, Provençal soaps, vineyard views, fresh croissants a stroll away…

Grand, elegant, sumptuous – a bucolic bolthole for happy holidays in much comfort, with stunning green views to lake and deer park

A lovingly restored 19th-century farmhouse sitting between the Galtees and Ballyhouras, with a hot tub waiting at day's end

Exposed beams and stone walls mix with modern art and minimalism to give a warm yet uncluttered luxury. Stylish yet relaxing

Plenty of restful, comfortable space indoors and out in the Mediterranean garden with its courtyard pool – restaurants to walk to

Homely furnishings and 17th-century charm at this estate on the Severn, whose owners are mad about horses and give you fine home produce

A fin-de-siècle Franco-Scottish décor for this hospitable, entertaining B&B, in the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter

A converted Victorian schoolhouse with a glorious oak bar, an impressive selection of gins, hearty food and attractive bedrooms

An 18th-century coaching inn right in the heart of an old Welsh drovers' town, with award-winning food and the Brecon Beacons rising behind

Two villas on opposite shores of a big lily-covered lake, fed with natural spring water from the Ticino river and surrounded by gardens