For a taste of the circus in an idyllic Italian setting, Il Torrino apartments in Tuscany are offering free Clown Skills classes for adults and children. The apartments sleep from two to eight and have a pool and tennis court. From £480per week

, is Sicily’s oldest. The carnival is best known for its amazing floral displays and floats portraying celebrities, politicians and fantasy creations.Stay in the heart of Acireale at the Melaverde apartment, which sleeps seven and costs from £760 for three

inhabitants – the Romans and Etruscans – abound. Why not leave the car behind and hire mountain bikes to explore the area? The apartments, furnished in typical Tuscan style, sleep from two to eight. Prices start from £960 for a family of four staying seven

Want a break from the hurly-burly of modern life and lots of space for your child? Dolly Cottage, in rugged, rural Eire’s Donegal, is a 200-year-old thatched cottage sleeping up to four, set in seven acres of gardens leading to the River Stragar

while staying in one of Natural Retreats’ nine family-friendly villas in Playa Blanca, each with four bedrooms, sleeping up to eight people. If you can tear yourself away from the private pool, visit beautiful Timanfaya National Park. A seven-night stay

costs from £883 per person including flights. A new child-friendly narrowboat is available on the South Oxford canal. Sleeping up to four adults and four children, it comes with its own playroom, with DVD player, boardgames and play tables, plus a

day of rain during your stay, the hotel will reimburse you with acomplimentary night’s stay on the same board basis (totake within six months).   Sleep amongst Saatchi Gallery art in the Limited Edition Saatchi Gallery Suite at the Hyatt Regency London