A harmonious B&B in Chinon wine country. Home-cooked food, comfortable beds, easy conservations with your host and starry skies at night

This famous old country house might not come cheap, but where else can you splash out in such decadent style for life’s big celebrations?

Enjoy southern life in a charming palazzo in Trapani. Come for coastal drives and baroque basilica, hand-twirled pasta and fresh calamari

Gloriously green rural self-catering apartments with pool and lovely, friendly owners

Comfortable redbrick cottage with views on the Heydon Hall estate. It’s delightfully rural, yet close to Reepham for pubs and shops

A hilltop setting for this ancient fortress with an illustrious past. You stay in apartments or farmhouses inside or outside the walls

An old-world inn full of colour, with open fires, cosy rooms, local food and the magnificent Northumberland National Park all around

Great gulps of ozone will engulf you at this architect-designed 1960s beach house - light, bright and sparkling, just like the ocean

A dear little gingerbread-style house in the prettiest part of the estate with your own pontoon and boat on the edge of a shimmering lake

A lovely big old farmhouse for gatherings of friends and family with your own indoor pool, sauna, gym and jacuzzi

A big, rambling inn – welcoming and unpretentious with deep sofas, eclectic artwork, tasty food and exceedingly comfortable bedrooms

Family-run B&B in traditional trulli with hands-on hosts. Swim in the pool, explore the countryside, the coast is half an hour’s drive away

A traditional Welsh cottage perfect for a nature loving pair – stunning coastal walks, hidden coves, birdwatching and a crackling fire

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

Dominating the village is this historic hotel... all frescoes, chandeliers, splendour at every turn. And a handsome pool, too

A serene retreat basking above the Algarve with sea views from the garden and pool, and charming Moorish details

A lovely spot in an AONB for this bright and airy converted barn, one of four round a gravelled courtyard on a 600-acre estate

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