Italy

Foodies will love the irresistible cooking - along with local wine and a typically Tuscan setting. Bedrooms are pretty

Escape your cares here, move from terrace to terrace tracking the sun's progress and dive into the sea from your own swimming platform

Blissful views to vineyards and mountains from this faithful reproduction of a 16th-century manor. Eat well, hike, bike, sauna and swim

Comfortable, big family home with sparkling sea views over the Adriatic: discover the coast, explore Ancona and Loreto, enjoy the garden

Stylish apartment overlooking a vibrant market in the old city, with restaurants and historic attractions in easy walking distance

Delicious vegetarian cooking, a pool, lemon groves and hazy views of the Hyblaean mountains make a perfect escape near Cassibile

Magical sunshine-filled grounds with olive trees, palms, cacti and carob surround the charmingly-coloured stone of these 1750 farm buildings

Up the winding road to stillness, nature and a magical view. There’s glorious Gubbio to explore, and a log fire to come home to

Painting courses on request, gardens full of roses, a parasol’d terrace, a seductive pool… we love this welcoming, traditional hotel

Superb, all-organic agriturismo built of straw bales and offering wonderful home-grown natural food, a delightful family, great walking

Five tranquil apartments surrounded by Tuscan countryside just over half an hour's drive from Siena – hire them all for a group holiday

Elegant rooms with all the bells and whistles of a swish hotel, surrounded by vines and perfectly placed to explore Tuscany and Umbria

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

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

Dine wonderfully on farm-fresh food and grandma's recipes; cookery classes too! And views, a pool, farm animals, sunsets, a warm family...

Cast yourselves away to this beautiful island and a bright, spacious apartment with a rooftop terrace bang in the middle of the town square

Two enviable hideaways on a cobbled street high on a hill, both with stunning views next to Galileo's house, the Villa Bardini and gardens

Rooms with rooftop and mountain views, luxurious in their simplicity, heavenly breakfasts out on the terrace, and a cultured, caring owner