This cottage is stylish and serene, beautifully transformed from an old farm building – come for golf, beaches, walks and bird-watching

Stylishly simple cottage in the heart of the old fishing port of Méze, within easy stroll of seafood restaurants and sandy beaches

A summer hideaway by a lively Algarvian village with a pretty garden. Sundowners, a pool, massages, a BBQ and traditional bedrooms

Independence at one end of the house with your own sitting room opening onto a courtyard garden. Good pub for food a few minutes' walk away

Rare as a bird, a proper old fashioned French inn on the side of the road in a sleepy village, a restoration project for the new owners

A traditional Breton stone cottage, two minutes from the sea, with a large, leafy garden and glamping with activities in the summer months

In the city of Trapani, at the foot of Mount Erice, a nobleman's villa with a warm heart and exotic gardens. A hop from the Egadi Islands

A trulli hamlet immersed in nature, on the wilder side of Puglia with visits to white-washed hilltop towns and cooking with Nonna Maria

Come for the gloriously peaceful countryside and this 1700s house and garden, scrupulously renovated and with plenty of space

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

A swishly renovated detached hideaway up a hill, surrounded by vineyards and with a covered deck for sweeping views just outside Beaune

Gather the clans and just come. It's lovely here among acres of wildlife-filled grounds – a Sawday's Community Champion

Ensconce yourselves in the Black Périgord and stay in the East Wing of a 16th-century castle with private garden and surrounding parkland

A peaceful, beautiful place to wake up in and to return to after glorious walks, with no near neighbours apart from curious sheep

Your host runs home and B&B with effortless efficiency and you'll find shiny, spotless rooms to retreat to after a day's exploring

An impressive manor house set in gentle rolling countryside ten miles from Oxford with a delightful garden, warm hosts and organic breakfast

A smooth, contemporary space with far-reaching views, plenty of light and high ceilings for nature lovers, walkers, artists and dreamers

A vine-clad stone house hideaway for lovers, walkers, artists and hermits with a sweet veranda overlooking woodland down to the river