What do the British really want when they escape the UK’s drizzly, damp and good-mood murdering weather and flee southward towards sunnier climes to find their much dreamed-of holiday home?

If the brochures are to believed what counts are nearby beaches plus authentic local restaurants or bars and decent shops.

But is this really what British buyers want or merely an idyll? The question has preoccupied many developers and estate agent over the years but now it’s ever more pressing as British buyers become more choosy as the credit crunch bites.

One conundrum is whether we want ‘real’ versions of places like Spain, Portugal or France or merely faux editions that, beneath the stylised architecture, are really little Britains offering the familiar rather than the foreign.

Traditional or new: a recently-built property in Crete that could pass for a converted farmhouse.

Most coastal strips in southern Europe offer both these days. For example, venture over to the Praia D’El Rey resort in Portugal on the country’s Silver Coast above Lisbon and you’ll find a small town of villas and apartment blocks built in a style that mimics that local vernacular but offers a five-star hotel if you tire of cooking your own food.

On the other hand, ten miles along the coast and inland a bit there are country villas for sale built by Lisbonites forty years ago that ooze a bit more authenticity.

There are, though, places where an acceptable middle way can be navigated between new and ‘real’. This is most obvious to see in the Greek islands, and in particular on Crete. There builders know that to attract British buyers – who are usually purchasing with an eye on retirement on the island at some point – they have to offer a fairly unique product.

Because Brits treasure the island for its relatively intact architectural vernacular and the swathes of similar-looking brown-tile roof villas built on some stretches of the Spanish costas over the past decade are usually a no-no on Crete.

Therefore new-build and resale houses on the island have to look like converted farm outhouses but offer all of the comforts Brits expect, as research by island developer Said Marie of Caversham-Barnes recently revealed.

“They told us they wanted a private heated pool with a huge sun terrace, air-conditioning – but also central heating for use during Crete’s brief winter period – gardens and a garage,” he says.

“Those were our design criteria and, because potential buyers can see that we have taken the trouble to build what they actually want, we are selling the properties despite the recession.”

The lesson for buyers currently looking in particularly for a newbuild property overseas is to find a developer which has made an attempt to understand the British – for example it is only recently that high-end kitchens and bathroom have started to become standard within properties overseas, many years after it has been standard in the UK.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an extra 0 tagged onto the end of the price of this Nevada mansion. And there certainly aren’t the three extra 0s I was hoping for. But rightly so. Because this property is really spectacular. It looks like something out of an American Ivy League University brochure. It’s grand, it’s impressive, it’s over the top. And yes, it’s £60 million.

But it’s also in 212 acres of grounds, full of gardens and forests and a lake. You already know how I feel about waking up looking over a lake.

This property is much more than just the main building (although let’s face it, that’s not too bad for a pile of bricks either). What you can’t see are the stables and the guest lodgings and the art studio. Doesn’t every mansion need an art studio?

And did I mention there’s a theatre too? Not a cinema – an actual theatre. It’s perhaps a little too far off the beaten track to convince cast of Cats to pop by, but it’s fun to have anyway, don’t you think?

Although, instead of playing about on stage, you may be too busy in the gym or the cigar room or the bar.

There’s nothing this place doesn’t have. Except for an owner. And who wouldn’t want to live here?

From an Art Deco penthouse to an oak leaf-shaped swimming pool, here’s our pick of this week’s top international properties. Enjoy!

1. Right on the beach

2. French estate

3. Castle by Central Park

4. Penthouse in Art Deco building

5. Oak leaf-shaped swimming pool

6. Commissioned by Gustave Eiffel

7. Contemporary design

8. 1,200 sq m villa on the French Riviera

9. Unique architecture

10. 73-bedroom French chateau

A New York townhouse is the thing dreams are made of. I love the idea of living in the heart of the Big Apple, but I’m a home girl and only a house, not a flat, would do.

Of course, if I had £45 million, I could buy this mansion – it’s one of the largest townhouses in New York.

It’s not only one of the largest, it’s also one of the best designed – thanks to C.P.H. Gilbert, the renowned architect who created majestic mansions for all the leading families of the city in the 1920s.

Behind its limestone façade, it spans five floors, with soaring ceilings, loads of marble (just look at that staircase!), and even a basement. In total, there’s approximately 21,000 sq ft of space – that’s a whole lot of Upper East Side living. There’s even a garden too.

Even though it’s about £45 million more pounds than I have, I’m going to be coveting this property for as long as it’s on the market. Which won’t be very long, I’m sure.