One month in France. What town?

As you write, it's a pretty large country. What do you mean by "decent access to trains?" Are you envisioning frequency? Diversity of destinations? TGV vs. TER? What are you thinking?

And what would constitute "larger cities" to you? How large?

Villages no longer have train access, unfortunately. SNCF scaled back service to villages almost twenty years ago. For a while SNCF subsidized some taxi vouchers to get passengers to villages formerly served, but no more. You’ll need a town.

Hi,

We will have a car to get to trains. I know my request is vague and unfocused. Let me rephrase: To those who knwo the country well, can you recommend a village that would be fun to stay in for 4 weeks.

To narrow down your choices, how about taking a careful look at the available cooking schools. Once you know which ones are a good fit with your interests, budget, and any other considerations, then you can assess their locations. I suggest this because it sounds like you have already done some cooking school research. There are thousands of lovely towns in France, but comparatively few of them have a cooking school that accepts tourists for a few days.

I can't speak to cooking schools and trains but we are spending the month of September near Cenac et St Julien. It's a few minutes south of Sarlat. This is our third trip. We like the country and the small villages. We enjoy finding our favorite bakeries, restaurants, markets etc.

Montpellier is a beautiful small city where there are a number of cooking schools. It is on the rail line so easy to get to and it has a lively atmosphere.
The seaside village of Agde has a rail station and a number of places you can take classes.
Agde isn't far from the village of Pezenas which would absolutely meet your desire for a smaller place where you can practice your French. Fantastic weekly market and a beautiful old-town core. We spent a month there one summer and loved it...looking to go back sometime!

Just an example and my experience of a few weeks back. You can stay for instance (all north of Paris, nice area btw) in Chantilly, Senlis or Compiègne, the latter has in or at walking distance from the centre free parkings. (edit) Train to Paris: from the first two you can drive to Fosses also with free parking space close to RER station Survilliers-Fosses. It has the advantage of travelling within the 5 zones of Paris, Gouvieux near Chantilly not has. From there 47min. to Châtelet-Les Halles, the very centre of Paris. From Compiègne there are direct trains.

However no idea about cooking classes.

For what it's worth, I live in a small town in Burgundy (technically, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) and there are probably hundreds of small towns and villages where one could stay (not sure what the difference would be in your mind). Many have limited train service, despite earlier suggestions that trains no longer service villages. In the north, one can access Paris easily for more distant travel, and in the south, one can access Lyon for the same.

I guess you could say that one could practice their French in these kinds of towns. A more accurate statement would be that one better darn well know a pretty good level of French in small towns beyond major tourist stops, or else communication will be limited, stressful, and difficult.

Village (or small town) life in France generally is slow-paced, and many towns seem nearly deserted at times. It takes some getting used to and you have to learn the timing of store closures and market days to make sure you have food to get you by. I'll be honest: some seeking quaint small town or village French life may be bored. You have to work a bit to keep yourself stimulated.

That said, you might want to consider southern Bourgogne. There are some decent natural features within a reasonable drive, as well as numerous interesting historical manmade structures and towns. I know there's an English-speaking chef in Dijon (the largest Bourgogne city) who teaches classes and I'm quite certain you could find one in Lyon, which is just a quick drive further south.

We spent a few days in Dijon last October. I can't comment on the cooking schools there - but it has everything else you're looking for. A small city with really easy access to the train. There's a light rail system that services the train station, and the train station is about a 3 block walk from the city center. Additionally - you'd be close to visiting the Cote d'Or, Lyon and many other locations. And lastly - you're only a two hour train ride from Paris. We loved Dijon - and are seriously considering it as a retirement destination in a couple of years.

But wherever you choose - have a wonderful time!

What about Uzès? West of Avignon (linked by bus), and north of Nimes, both served by TGV from Paris? Lovely small town, and you would have the choice of two cooking schools! Great area for walking or exploring by car.
https://cooking-classes-uzes.com/our-location/
http://cooking-in-uzes-provence.com/

Good remark from Bob, smaller towns can feel abandoned and there is a risk getting bored there. Edited my other post btw.

Thumbs up for the suggestions by cgichard on Uzès.

I recently spent a week with Cook'n With Class Uzès (the upper link in cgichard's post), and highly recommend them. The instruction and the customer service are top-notch. Their introduction to the markets -- not only the open market in Uzès, but also the covered market in Nimes -- was fantastic. If you're not looking to take an entire week's worth of classes, half-day classes that can be purchased individually are also available.

Based on my week in Uzès, I can imagine spending an entire month in that area. Uzès has a nice small-town feel, and is not overly touristy. The open market is great, and there are two market days each week (Wednesdays and Saturdays). As cgichard mentioned, the town is conveniently located near Avignon and Nimes. Not too much further away is Arles, which also has a relatively large train station.

From Uzès, driving to towns and villages of Provence is very doable. Unfortunately, I ran out of time, but I would've liked to head west for a day trip to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, to tour the caves where Roquefort cheese is produced.

I suggest LOCHES in the sud-touraine part of the Loire Valley. It is connected to Tours via train (2 services a day) and also bus. It's also perfectly located to visit the Loire Valley. On Wednesdays (and maybe Saturdays, if I remember correctly) there is a great market in the centre ville.

If you want more frequent train access, try Nogent-le-Rotrou - a city between Chartres and Le Mans. But I warn you, English will be extremely hard to come by. It's very charming, though large enough to have a few good super markets.

We visited France last Summer for 3 weeks. I really enjoyed visiting Nimes, however my favorite city (which is not at all small) is Montpellier. They have a French American center where you can strike up conversations with French people wishing to improve their English as well. Nimes is a really cute city - visited for the first time last Summer. I would also suggest the possibility of renting a car at least one week while you are there. Pont du Gard, Haribo Museum (if you like candy), maybe going over to Provence area... You just have more options to explore with a car and driving in the South really isn't too bad if you are okay with round-abouts.

I do not recommend staying in a smaller city unless you are pretty fluent. My husband is from a smaller city in the South of France and even as a French major sometimes his relatives do not understand my accent. (Granted, I am likely the only American they have talked to...but still!) Again, this is likely different the closer you get to Paris!

Be aware that weather can (still) be hot in September, especially in southern France staying not too far from the coast can make your stay more comfortable.

For consideration, I would like to suggest Metz (pronounced "Mess" in French). Not on the "normal" tourist track, Metz is actually a very scenic city at the confluence of two rivers in northeast France with lots to see & do. A lot of Germanic influence in the city. It is about 45 minutes by train to Strasbourg & an hour and a half to Paris. Trains also run to cities such as Nancy & Lyon. It has a city transport system & a regional bus system to the smaller villages & towns outside the city. Not sure about cooking schools but Metz is a culinary hub for the region. It was not my original destination but was surprised by how nice Metz is & looking forward to going back for a longer stay.