Minutes from old Ajaccio (a scenic cycle ride) is a charming small hotel with a stunning bay setting, and majestic mountains behind

Come for a pretty village in fabulous walking country, delicious estate-sourced food, friendly staff and very comfortable bedrooms

Swap the mêlée for privacy and wonderful views. Delicious meals, an outdoor hot tub and Portes du Soleil skiing on your doorstep

Airy, spacious, sunny. This Lot gîte is a delight: linen curtains, oak stair, sunny pool. Sarlat and painted caves are an easy venture away

A nicely priced inn on Shaftesbury's high street with a warm contemporary style and some excellent food – fine local walking waits

Former pear-press cellar, now a swish bolthole with magical mountain views. In the village centre, 15-minutes’ drive to the Paradiski slopes

If you want to come to Venice as an open-hearted traveller rather than a tourist then this is the place for you - just walk to everything

A converted old granary next to a traditional Welsh longhouse in a deeply rural setting for unfussy nature lovers

A 18th-century house with pool in a small town with friendly owners and a tropical garden of banana, fig and, of course, frangipani

Characterful and family-friendly apartments on this lovely wine-country estate: great hosts, glorious grounds and pool, home-grown food

Starry skies, wild beauty and total peace are yours in these sustainable, solar-powered eco-lodges

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

Come for a big gathering of friends or family and take the whole house plus an extra cottage in the pretty gardens – swim in the pool, relax

Charming cottage in a vast garden with a swimming pool and boule; walk to the nearest village, drive to Côte d'Azur in less than an hour

Come with friends for a cookery course, or with the kids, and enjoy the creative feel of the place - and the food! Venice 40 mins by train

A dramatic house with stylish interiors – designed to bring the outdoors in so you feel wrapped in nature. Great for families or friends

Climb the candle-lit marble staircase to dream between lavender-scented sheets in splendid rooms, some with balcony or terrace