My wife and I will be in France for 8 days in early November. We will fly into Paris, but want to experience France beyond the city. Please provide intinerary suggestions. We are considering renting a car and driving, but are also somewhat interested in barge or train travel. Mostly, we want to minimize hectic transport and maximize enjoyment of all that rural France has to offer. In November, weather may be an issue so we're considering heading south, but we're not really beach people. Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Head south to Provence. Take the train to Avignon and rent a car there. It will be cool and you will have rainy days but it should be peaceful.

Hi,

Have you considered the Dordogne, Auvergne, Lot regions?

Another possibility is Bourges, Sancerre and Berry. You can reach Bourges from Paris in about two hours by train. Bourges has a magnificent old town including several fascinating museums and a cathedral that rivals Notre Dame. The Mercure hotel about a 5 minute walk from the train station is very comfortable (rooms about $100 per night) and set around a former 16th century abbey with a very nice park across the street.
You can rent a car by the station (no need to drive from Paris) and explore the wonderful Berry region, which is the heart of France and overlooked by tourists. It is filled with castles, parks, interesting sights, and you are also about a 45 minute drive from Sancerre, a very attractive fortified hill town. In Sancerre you can sample the wines from several very good quality wineries (the whites are Sauvignon Blanc and the reds are usually pinot noir) and dine at La Tour, one of the nicest restaurants we've been to.

Thanks for the quick replies. I've read other posts about Dordogne and Provence. Both sound like good off-season options. I've heard the weather in Provence is iffy in November, but can also be beautiful. What kind of weather could we expect in Dordogne?