Gem-like in a deep park among meadows, a family-friendly château with 2 stylish cottages. Join the lovely owners for dinner, dip in the pool

Get away from it all in 'old' France, where melons taste like melons & hikes start from the door. This rural bolthole is a serious treat

Stay in a lovely 18th-century townhouse in one of the prettiest villages on the Loire surrounded by unspoilt countryside

A botanical beauty deep in the Loire Valley, this elegant house has history and heart in abundance

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

A small, family-run boutique hotel sitting right at the foot of Etna with wonderful views, garden, pool and ambrosial Sicilian breakfasts

Ease into a slower way of life from this beautiful Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by vineyards in the valley below medieval Montepulciano

Come for a bright, roomy, uber-green and accessible larch-clad space with garden and pond in pretty countryside

A glamourous escape in central Nice. Creative art-filled interiors, a fabulous tropical garden, sumptuous buffet breakfasts, pool and spa

Traditional and modern, verging on the opulent. Find a stone-flagged tap room for walkers, top modern food and Chatsworth-perfect bedrooms

A babbling brook, the sound of birdsong and centuries of history steeped into the walls of this medieval barn, plus a heated indoor pool

Music evenings, pop-up theatre nights and great food at the Sash brasserie. You’re just a stroll from shops and bars

A very tastefully restored old stone stable on a gloriously rural estate with woodland gardens, lake and a deer park

Simple, stylish interiors at this restored cottage on a rural estate overlooking the river Tay, with farmland, forest and trails to discover

5 houses near Siena to make design-lovers happy; come for the rural solitude of ancient stone farm buildings with urban interiors

Birders will love escaping up here, golfers too - visit Hatfield House, Knebworth, Cambridge - come back to a good local pub and a comfy bed

A period manor and pretty rooms in old stables: a quiet base for Pas-de-Calais and Picardie. Madame loves the house, animals, story-telling

Enter through an impressive stone arch to discover this 16th-century fortified manor house with a gorgeous communal dining and seating area