The view is pure Canaletto, the vibe is modern and laid back. Just minutes from all Venice’s best bits, but with far fewer tourists

This is Somerset at its most quintessential: a thatched roofed, honey-coloured Hamstone cottage with a pretty courtyard garden; sleeps four

A niftily restored, open-plan, beamed hayloft, just the ticket for romantics, with gorgeous views of fields and open countryside

A charming renovated stone gîte only 15km from Bergerac with a large outdoor pool, pretty gardens and walks and cycle rides from the door

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts

An enviable hideaway on a cobbled street high on a hill, with stunning views next to Galileo's house, the Villa Bardini and gardens

Spend restful days in a verdant garden, slip into the cooling pool, sip wine on your private balcony, stroll into arty Benissa

In peaceful Burgundy countryside, a beautifully-restored farmhouse with B&B rooms, delicious regional food and an inviting pool

Blissful views to vineyards and mountains from this faithful reproduction of a 16th-century manor. Eat well, hike, bike, sauna and swim

This friendly, Scottish island B&B has the Atlantic at the end of the garden and air so clean the lichen grows like beards from the trees

Up in the hills, an amazing family holiday with Lorna and Lee. Weekly paella nights, great pool, lovely walking. Beauty therapies, too...

A smartly renovated 250-year-old brick and flint built inn, tucked away in a sleepy village beneath the glorious South Downs

An exceptional villa with four acres of private gardens, high in the mountains and with stunning views over Lake Como - the perfect oasis

A 200-year-old quintessential Umbrian farmhouse with pool, immersed in nature and with no immediate neighbours for lazy, peaceful days

Elegant Italian style in a sensitively-restored villa with sweeping views over rolling hills and forests

Stylish apartment overlooking a vibrant market in the old city, with restaurants and historic attractions in easy walking distance

There’s a Tuscan feel to this lovely, family-friendly place – walk to the sound of cicadas, stargaze, visit vineyards, markets and castles

Remote wartime research station turned stylish retreat with knockout views, wild walks and a front-row seat to the weather