5 minutes from the Vatican in a tall palazzo above the British school. Owners share local tips, serve bakery-fresh breakfasts on the terrace

In the heart of beautiful Siena, it's just like staying with a friend, as hostess Paola chats whilst preparing local produce for breakfast

Loved by estate-workers, visitors, well-heeled locals, and walkers, this spruced-up pub is a friendly launchpad for Chatsworth

Eco-friendly B&B overlooking Lake Como with marvellous mountain and lake views. Heaps of space, generous hosts, a menagerie of animals

This stately-looking former manor house set back from the road in acres of gardens serves very good food and has rustic-chic bedrooms

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

A really friendly French family home, steeped in history and tradition with delicious home-grown food, a lovely garden and peaceful pool

A townhouse with a walled garden by the church in a peaceful village where friendly Scottish owners feed and look after you well

Georgian country house with rustic charm and a home-from-home feel. In the heart of Wiltshire just outside historic town Bradford-on-Avon

An eco renovation of an 1800s gamekeepers cottage, now a charming place for couples or families to immerse themselves in nature

A beautiful little house in a corner of the garden: walk for miles or just to the local pub, barbecue on the deck with its rural views

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

Perfect for lovers of the quintessentially English cottage - carefully renovated and classily stylish - a ramble to nearest pub

White-painted beams, wonky white walls and your own parking spot fairly nearby. You're near the harbour and subtropical gardens

Get a taste of la dolce vita in this boutique resort perched high above Sorrento, gateway to the dazzling Amalfi coast

Wild and peaceful small hotel bordering National Park of Guadarrama. Listen to birdsong, hike in the sierra, spend the day in Segovia

A lovely, spacious 1830s house in the heart of arty Westport with nearly an acre of garden, an apple orchard and the river running past