We are traveling up (driving I think) from Spain for a few days in southern France, and looking for any recommendations enroute or in SE France. We don't care about shopping, and not particularly about wine, either. Just some nice, (perhaps historic) villages to relax and spend a few days. Thanks for any advice!

Do you mean SW France, or are you driving to Provence from Spain?

Also, you'll be returning the car to Spain, right? If not, you'll get hit with a walloping big fee.

We enjoyed Bordeaux and the surrounding countryside.

Bordeaux is SW, not SE. And there is FAR more lovely countryside just an hour or two away to the east.

Yes- returning to car to Spain, and we are traveling up thru Pyrenees from Costa del Sol.

The Pyrenees themselves are worthwhile.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623717915043/

and you might want to take a look at my last trip report where we did a short trip in what I call the Aquitaine and the Midi. Click on my name to find it; you would want to read the section between Bordeaux and the Dordogne.

So, it's SW France, not SE France, as you originally posted.

I would visit St-Jean-de-Luz and then go inland to the Pyrénées. What cities/towns/villages you land in depends on how many days you have and what interests you.