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

A village setting for this family-friendly cottage-in-a-row with private garden next to the owners' pretty 17th-century thatched house

If you need a great place in which to relax and don’t want to pay too much for it, try these excellent suites, which spoil you all the way

A cosy, courteous, family-run hotel with ‘chocolatines’ and cherry jams at breakfast, Basque dishes at dinner, and gorgeous rolling views

It's quiet among the lavender plants... bees humming, sun shining. Splash in the shared pool, visit lovely villages, taste local wines

A bright and spacious cottage set against a backdrop of woodland for days spent happily reading by the wood-burner or lunch on the sun deck

Choose between airy bedrooms up an elegant stair, or magnificent rooms at garden-level with private terraces. Find sweetness and warmth

Feel at ease in a lovely old townhouse filled with pictures and personality and including a separate loft apartment

Wonderful views over medieval Gubbio from this rural stone farmhouse with pool, cottages and apartments sitting in lush gardens

A light, spacious house sitting on a nature reserve for very comfortable stays and magnificent birdwatching, walking, cycling, riding

Heart-soaring Pyrenean views, animals roaming, natural materials in simple rural rooms, organic food: it’s a superbly welcoming eco-lodge

Six cosy cottages for couples (babies and dogs welcome) on this gorgeous eco farm with enclosed gardens, a summer pool and treatments

Imperious old coaching inn lost in deep country with a river to fish, five-mile views, delicious rooms and some very tasty food

A pair of historic houses with far-reaching views of the Cotswold Hills and walks from the gate

Surrounded by wildlife and water, this ultra-modern house has huge windows, white walls and designer furnishings. Blissfully remote

Painting courses on request, gardens full of roses, a parasol’d terrace, a seductive pool… we love this welcoming, traditional hotel

Escape your cares here, move from terrace to terrace tracking the sun's progress and dive into the sea from your own swimming platform

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