Do the drive thingy. We were in France for almost a month this summer (I wrote a trip report where I talked about drving in France called "Our Month in France - Paris, Normandy, Dordogne and Provence"). We drove out of Paris, then in Normandy, the Dordogne and Provence. Unless you're in a hurry to get somewhere, I'd avoid the autoroutes. They're just boring. We took all the backroads (although the backroads are just great, well kept and easy to navigate). That way you get to see all the small villages and even some surprises as you motor along. Be aware that the French use cameras to monitor speed and they can trap you with that, since the speeds will slow dramatically and quickly as you approach small villages, so be prepared to slow down (of course, why rush, there's so much to see). My wife and I shared the driving, using a stick shift and we kept stopping at so many places we just hadn't counted on, because it was such a wonderful sight. Just my take on things. Good luck, have a great time.

I rented a car at CDG and drove to Auxerre last year. I made one wrong turn but other than that it was easy - although it might not be so easy during rush hour.

I can understand if you wanted to take a train to Burgundy and then rent a car but why schlepp down to Orly and then rent a car?

anyone have a GPS recommendation for driving in France?

If you already have a GPS then that one with a set of maps for France.

Otherwise any where you can get a set of maps for France

If you rent a Mercedes or an Audi, both have a great GPS system.