4 days - where to go? (now in the right forum)

Hi all! After a false start, I%26#39;ve put this in the France forum, rather than the Sarlat-la-Caneda - sorry about that, I am still new!

I am looking for a bit of advice for the second part of our France trip. My husband and I arrive in Paris in late September, and will be spending four full days there, plus a day trip to Versailles.

We then have about four days to experience another region of France - and this is where I get stuck! We would prefer not to rent a car, so I know that will limit us to larger towns and cities. However, we would like to see something different to Paris, and generally soak up the atmosphere.

We would be happy to rent bicycles and do lots of walking, plus local trains/buses. We are not really museum people, and will have done a fair bit of %26#39;inside%26#39; stuff in Paris, so if possible would love to be outside, experiencing the countryside (if possible) or just wandering around markets, town squares, shops etc.

I have been doing a bit of research, and have found some great info on cycling in the Loire Valley and also Burgundy. Public transport options in these areas also seem quite good in that we can get the TGV to a main centre, and go from there. But then I get distracted by other great sounding towns/cities, and wonder whether we shouldn%26#39;t go there, and maybe do a day trip or two from that base? Some that I%26#39;ve heard recommended include Strasbourg, Nancy, Annecy, Aix-en-Provence and Avignon.

Can anyone help out with where we should go for our few days? I would like this part of our holiday to be relaxing, but at the same time don%26#39;t want to waste the short amount of time we have in France. Any ideas would be welcome, merci!