Charming trulli apartments promise rustic comfort and panoramic views (horses too). Perfectly placed for exploring the area

Within the city walls and right next to the Minster, this super-smart hotel gives you gorgeous bedrooms and delicious food

A lovely big house with huge riverside gardens and an easy-going charm – a 15-minute walk from bookish Hay-on-Wye

Come for fine food and drink, sumptuous bedrooms and a relaxed, informal atmosphere at this gorgeous Cotswold manor house with ancient roots

Provençale-meets-English country house to great effect – cycle Mont Ventoux, walk to the monastery, visit Roman towns and vineyards

Come for the great outdoors and wrap-around views of Muncaster Fell and Scafell Pike from this warm, bright and spacious Passivhaus

A small, quirky country house hotel with lovely staff, pretty rooms and heavenly food served in a pillared dining room

Three gîtes in the Dordogne with panoramic countryside views and a swimming pool – book individually or together for a group holiday

A lodge house in magnificent gardens, which are all yours when visitors leave. A sweet retreat for anyone, but gardeners will adore it

A surprisingly roomy interior for this pretty chocolate-box cottage in the middle of the village, just a ten-minute walk from Lulworth Cove

Spoiling bedrooms, fabulous food and a lovely position lost in the hills make this Lakeland inn hard to resist - bring your walking boots

A wisteria-laden pergola shades the sunny side of the farmhouse - in gentle olive country near the Sibillini Park, not far from the Adriatic

Secluded country house hotel with gracious rooms and dining; stroll the grounds, visit the coast, Beverley is only a five-minute drive away

Kids range free, adults recharge in these two gites on a 17th-century estate with sunny gardens and a pool. Hike, bike, swim, relax...

A very pretty old coach house in a south London garden – perfect for a couple or a family. Friendly owners live across the courtyard

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

At the end of the unpaved road, surrounded by oaks, chestnuts and pines, a wonderful surprise for families and children who love to explore

Saint Emilion and Castillon both a hop away from a warm, wonderful barn with owners to match. Stylish, cosy and deep in organic vines