Be warned. Once you go French you can never go back.
Basicly, us French are really good with this : food, history, culture. Don't expect more from us.
If I were you, I'd try going south. Toulouse is nice and affordable. Nice place, cool people with weird accents, superb food. Foie gras, roquefort cheese and saucisse sèche and wine (côte de Provence) are things not to miss. You'll also find everything duck related, Mediterranean food and all kind of tasty stinky cheese. Fouace, massepain and such makes great desert with confiture and such. Bordeaux is nice as well, closer to the Spanish border and all. It's a bit different in terms of gastronomy and all, but nice as well. I'm partial to Toulouse 'cause my mother is from the region.
If you can't get that far south, Brittany is nice. Again, lots of specific food (greatest fish and seafood in the world, crêpes, and all). Lorient is probably where I'd be headed. Super city. Rather small, but it's on the coast, affordable to stay in, and there are lots of nice pubs to go out to and meet heavy drinkers. For the record, us French have a specific take on Brittons. We say of someone that' s way to stubborn that he's stubborn like a Britton
Bear in mind that going east will lead you into regions were the culture is more German influenced (places like Strasbourg). If you can't move much, Paris is nice. Not cheap, but nice. You'll find many places to visit, often within walking range of each other. Nantes, where I live, is not far from Paris (3 hours of train IRRC). It's more of a melting pot, I guess we don't have that much of a specific cultural identity.
Most decent sized cities will have museums, historical sites and all. We're very attached to preserving those and have specific laws to make sure it stays that way. In Nantes, lots of exhibits are entirely free.
Don't hesitate if you've got more specific questions.
If you're trying to find someone who might speak English decent enough to help you out, aim for people in their twenties and thirties. Statistically speaking, that's where you have the most chance. Most of us will have troubles understanding French words, names of places and such 'cause of pronunciation. A majority of us seems to find it easyer to read these things. Typing it on your phone or writing it down can make the difference.
Also, often, I find Americans to be rather afraid to talk to us 'cause they've read somewhere we hate them. Half of us don't care, half of us hate your government. Not you, only your government (that said, too often, we hate ours as much as we hate yours
).
