In the city centre, this Renaissance palace is now a ‘beautiful and gracious’ hotel with ‘stunning’ lounges filled with antiques and art treasures, and neo-classical drawings and sculpture by Giovanni Duprè, an ancestor of the present owners.

In an artists’ colony up a hill near the castle (a ‘charming spot’), this stylish little guest house (‘At the Sign of the Crayfish’) is a tasteful recreation of two wooden 18th-century farm buildings, in cobbled courtyards, on this site. 

‘Not cheap, but the style, decor, service and fabulous location make it a winner’: this 17th-century mansion is within easy walking distance (via Pont Neuf) of the Louvre and Notre Dame.

The Pucic Palace hotel sits in the peaceful Gundulic Square at the centre of the Old Town in Dubrovnik. 

This hip art hotel is centrally located in historic downtown Budapest, just 50 metres from the Danube and a few steps from the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, Vaci Street.

Located in the quiet residential Lapa area, opposite the National Museum of Ancient Art, is this former palace now elegant boutique hotel. 

Casa Camper is set in a 19th century Gothic tenement building in the heart of Barcelona, close to the famous La Boqueria market and a five minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya.