This week: outstanding foreign homes

PROPERTIES WITH A DIFFERENCE

FRANCE

Chateau Betouzet, Sauveterre de Bearne, nr Biarritz. A late 17th- century chateau set in a beautiful park with views to the Pyrenees. 4 beds, 5 bath, 3 receps, kitchen, utility room, swimming pool, pool house, dovecote, barn, 27 acres. pounds 415,000. Hamptons 0171 824 8822.

MALLORCA

Can Calo, Deya. An impeccably restored stone house on the island's west coast with uninterrupted views of the coastline and mountains. 6 beds, 6 bath, 1 dressing room, 3 receps, 2 cloakrooms, kitchen, summer room, play room, nurse's room, swimming pool, floodlit tennis court, caretaker's annexe, gardens. pounds 2.5m. Hamptons 0171 824 8822.

ITALY

Castello di Montepo, Grosseto, Tuscany. A 16th-century castle in a beautiful hilltop position and set in its own 1,000-acre estate. 8 beds, 7 bath, 3 receps, music room, library, portrait gallery, winter and summer kitchens, domestic offices and store rooms, estate office, wine cellar, 6 traditional Tuscan farmhouses, vineyard, woodland. pounds 3.3m. Knight Frank 0171 629 8171.

SPAIN

Casa del Melenchin, El Madronal, nr Marbella. An impressive Spanish country house with magnificent sea and mountain views. 4 beds, 4 bath, 3 receps, kitchen, study, courtyard, swimming pool, terraces, 1.75 acres. pounds 1.23m. Knight Frank 0171 629 8171.

FIJI ISLANDS

Laucala Island. A private tropical island in the South Pacific surrounded by coral reefs and white sand beaches, with the late Malcolm Forbes' hilltop house, freshwater swimming pool, plantation house, manager's house, 7 thatched bungalows, islanders' village, private airfield, 3,017 acres. pounds 6.2m. Knight Frank 0171 629 8171.

These properties have been selected by The Week, the magazine that gives you the best of British and foreign media. Send a cheque for pounds 49.50 to The Week, Freepost (SWB26), Bristol BS12 0BR or telephone the credit card hotline: 0171-447 0016. Or order a copy from your newsagent.