I have the good fortune to be based in Montpellier for a little over a month this summer for a job. I'm in France frequently to study and work, but it has always been in the northern half of the country - the Loire, Brittany, Normandy, and Alsace most often.
I will have just a couple of days here and there where I might be able to "do my own thing," but it would need to be close by as I'd still be on call. Any recommendations for places that would be a good little jaunt, doable in a day and with frequent transportation in case I had to head back quickly to help if needed? I'm not someone who needs to check off a bucket list of major sites; I know I'm likely to return to France, and so local sites are great. I like just about anything - small towns, larger cities, nature, museums, you name it, but I want it to be close and well-connected. In all my time in France, I've still never driven, but I probably could give that a try as well and rent a car for a day.
Another option I've considered is to see if I can arrange to arrive a couple of days early to see a major site or two - I'd love to see Marseille and the calanques, for example. TBD on that front.