A stunning château with huge rooms, pretty balconies with views, peaceful garden. Super owners, excellent dinners - and child-friendly too

Welcome to a beautiful space for six in Sicily’s chocolate capital - baroque jewel Modica. Laze in the garden, dip into the pool

A gentle, calm, immaculate place for an all-season family stay, near wine tastings, castles, caves and canoeing. Everyone loves the Dordogne

Just below the Tuscan town of Massa Marittima, an agriturismo loved by sporty types and families, with wonderful food on site

A blissfully quiet and welcoming New Cross home. English and oriental blend - including breakfast! Rooms are airy, richly decorated and fun

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

A listed townhouse with 16th-century roots in lovely little Wells with a pretty garden, just a short walk to the magnificent cathedral

Discover warmth, tranquillity and wonderful breakfasts behind the handsome old door of this luxurious small hotel in Lucca

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

Glass-and-timber doors bathe you with light, gaze at big skies and the river Dart lapping. Sublime year round, it's one of our favourites

Four pretty apartments perfect for groups. A natural swimming pool, animals roaming and walking distance from a summer boat to the beaches!

An irresistible eco restaurant-hotel of character and charm, run by two friendly families and set in gorgeous grounds. Foodie heaven

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

High up and with splendid views of the estuary and harbour, this roomy apartment is a very comfortable base for seaside holidays

A beautifully renovated lighthouse with stunning views from the lantern room. Pretty bedrooms, great walking and fabulous breakfasts

Beautiful views over Bantry Bay from this thoughtfully restored house with stylish rooms, gardens and woodland – a wonderful escape

A beautifully restored building in a vast, open space dotted with olive trees and fragrant citrus - unwind in the calming atmosphere

An 1820s farmhouse at the end of a quiet road in the North York Moors National Park, overlooking a forest and surrounded by fields