Year-round Alpine fun at this peaceful home a short hop from the peaks with calm bedrooms, delicious breakfasts and mountain views

A thoughtfully renovated cottage in a small hamlet with garden, courtyard and pool. The peace is palpable but you're near to bustling Tusson

Rambling casitas in a mountain hamlet, with a rustic bar, big shared pool and golf course, surrounded by birds, bougainvillea and views

An elegant 18th-century manor in the market town of Malesherbes, sitting behind its own walls and with mature gardens for a peaceful retreat

Hospitable Jorge and Clotilde love nothing more than sharing their colourful, chaotic old house with guests. The farm produce is fabulous

Take up residence in central London, surrounded by good places to eat. You have your own vast open-plan living space, light and lovely

Come for sumptuous bedrooms, fine dining, colourful gardens and charming staff at this smart hotel and restaurant

High on a hill in the Tyne Valley, undisturbed except by birds singing and the wind whistling; views swoop down to a magical landscape

A sculptor's studio, flooded with light, converted into a restful holiday home surrounded by glorious countryside, near Totnes

11 rooms yet huge personality: travel mementoes, bright colours, local breakfasts... in a fun market town under the Cotswold escarpment

Two grand stone houses in tranquil parkland with a heated pool, potager and plenty of space for groups. Chickens and charm included

Lovely small hotel in quirky market town surrounded by miles of stunning country – pretty rooms, tasty food and fine ales wait

Contemporary studio in a classic Cotswold village. Peaceful bolthole for creatives and walkers - with shops, cafés and pubs a stroll away

Come for summer breakfasts of pastries fresh from the local bakery, afternoons reading by the pool and long, lazy lunches

By a bubbling brook in the Mendips, close to Bath and Bristol, a wonderfully revived and welcoming inn with smart rooms and scrumptious food

An elegant solution to a hotel - no rooms, but 13 charming villas in the heart of the maquis, nearly all with a private pool

Picturesque cottage in the grounds of a grand manor, lovingly and creatively restored by its welcoming English owner