Good reasonably priced food and wine

You should have no trouble finding good food and wine in all of these towns. Perhaps to a lesser extent in Orange, which is less wealthy and less touristy so a smaller market for restaurants.

Good, reasonably priced food is an expectation in France. You will have no problem in smaller towns, especially compared to the quality of food in the US. We stopped at a discount grocer in the middle of nowhere, picked up some fruit, bread and cheese and it was all way better than expected. Better than what you will find in a grocer in the US, for sure.

If you are into wine, then simply go to any local grocery store, even a wine shop, and the selection will be wide and a fraction of the price in the US. Wine in restaurants will also be more reasonable, but like in the US, much more a bargain in the stores.

Food? There are reasonably priced options everywhere, but at it's root, French food is pretty basic, and it seems the more touristy the place, the quality suffers due to premade dishes. But still, there are likely smaller places doing good set menus in any of the towns you list. I have also found Italian restaurants very good in France.

Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France. Don't miss it.

In small towns you can often find excellent meals for much less than Paris in hotel dining rooms. There used to be a guide to independent chateaux and hotels which identified some of these dining rooms and we have enjoyed some of our best meals in them. for example: Esplanade in Domme, Roseraie in Montignac, at the hotel Joyet de Mobec in Uzzerches to name a few -- and we have had pretty good meals in many otherwise nameless ordinary hotels.

Our first great multi course French meals was at Roseraie in Montignac 25 years ago -- we had several great meals there in later years. It has since changed hands so we don't know how good it is now but small hotels in the countryside are often the major occasion restaurant for the region and are excellent or at least good as a rule. We have had good meals in truly awful hotels -- with rooms like summer camp.

janettravels44, That sounds wonderful. I'm not sure we could get to the ones in the countryside without a car, unless a bus going by would pick us up. I believe some you were referring to were in small towns, though. Thank you.

Most of the places you list are small cities with wonderful restaurants.

Actually, the smaller towns have better reasonably priced food and wine because they aren’t depending on tourists to make all their money. They have to provide food and wine at prices and quality that keep the locals happy

All the places that you list will have lots of options but will not actually be as good option as you might find in a smaller village.

The best places to find food are markets. You will find them in all small or medium-sized towns in France, and sometimes even in small villages. You can buy everything there: cheese, vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, bread, local products.
This is generally once or twice a week in the morning.

Regarding wine, I never buy wine in supermarkets.
In every city there are "Caviste" (wine merchants) who are professionals and enthusiasts offering wines that you will never find in supermarkets (and you can generally taste). The only ones to avoid are those from the "Nicolas" franchise whose employees often sell wine like they would sell washing machines. :-))

in the Dijon/Beaune area, consider the Abbaye de la Bussierre for a splurge