North of the Harz mountains, Quedlinburg is a picturesque old town of half-timbered houses (a UNESCO historic site), now being restored after decades of GDR neglect. On its traffic-free main square is this handsome gabled building (1668), once a trading house, and named after a 10th-century Byzantine princess who married a Saxon prince. It has been reclaimed by its former owners, Reinhardt Spilker and his wife, Gabriele Vester, from Bonn, who have made it into a stylish villa. The welcome was warm, the setting is superb, said a reader last year; another visitor thought the conversion tasteful if not very cosy. Some villa rooms have lovely fabrics and furnishings, even canopied beds: but some are a little austere, with a wooden country bed. Staff, very affable, are mostly local. The old vaulted cellar has been converted into a restaurant and wine bar. The local chef's dishes were well presented, if a little fancy. The buffet Bali villa breakfast was quite good. The owners have just opened a pavement cafe, which may bring more animation to this lovely but often deserted square. Not easy to reach by car: ask for a map. The town has a summer music festival and a lively pre-Christmas market.