Driving in Provence - car break-in problems?

We didn't have any theft or vandalism problems. Staying in Avignon, there is a large underground garage with lots of parking that is watched 24/7. About 24E a day to park there. All other areas of the city seemed to be metered. I believe that you can stay overnight at the meters. I'm betting that vandals can easily spot a rental car. We had parking available throughout our travels throughout Provence and especially the Luberon area. The only free parking that we found was in Lourmarin. As we began tourning to the north, we did find free parking in lots of the northern Provence cities. Our problem was with the very new VW Passat that we rented. Great car but we had never seen or experienced how the key works or the electric brake. The agent didn't explain anything. Somebody in the garage showed us how to insert the ignition key and after 10 days, we never did figure out how the electric brake worked.

I have driven there on many occasions with no problems... however (not to discourage you) we were broken into in a small town outside of St. Remy...BUT, we had 3- 9 passenger vans filled with photographers and we were a bit obvious as we pulled into town and left the vehicles. A few people left equipment in the back of the vans, and when we returned the windows were smashed, and stuff gone. Thankfully, I travel light and had my camera with me, but others like lots of stuff and then get tired of carrying it. The rental car company came and got the vans and we got new ones, but the cameras were gone...so, just don't leave a bunch of stuff visible in your car that someone might want to take! We had parked down a side street in a parking lot that was right near where a bunch of young men were playing basketball. I would only see Provence with a car.

Last June we rented a car in Reims and drove it about 2500 KM in France, including about a week in Provence. We had no parking problems of any kind anywhere except in Puy-en-Velay where the car was too big to park in the hotel space we had reserved for the night. It was too big because the agency in Reims didn't have the smaller size car we requested and had to upgrade us. We stayed in Aix-en-Provence and parked the car in an underground garage within a few blocks of our apartment. I had read that parking in Aix was a nightmare. I suspect that may be true in just about any good size city anywhere in the world if you expect to park on the street for free. I also don't leave any valuables visible in my car anywhere I spend the night on a trip in the US. I researched parking options in Aix, found the underground garage closest to our apartment and we parked the car there. The only difficulty we had driving in Provence was when we hit Arles at rush hour on the way back from visiting Stes. Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue. It was just a little congested, to say the least. We had driven around many, many traffic circles in Europe, but none with stop lights before!

22 days-2700 miles-8 different cities, including 3 in Provence during 10 days there. We were in small towns mostly, but fixing a flat tire on the main street at the market was challenging. We never left anything in the car-just like we don't in St. Louis, Chicago, or NYC, or any other town while on vacation in the US. You won't regret having the car. Happy travels.

I suppose it is good advice not to leave valuables in a vehicle, but when touring and visiting interesting sites in between lodgings it isn't practical. If it works, rent a car with a trunk where things can be locked out of sight. If you have a van or a hatchback, have a cover to put over anything left in the back of the vehicle so at least thieves have to decide whether something unknown is worth the bother and risk. In 1000s of kilometers of touring around Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, we've never had a problem.

Exactly as Tex said, put everything in the trunk or be sure the hatchback has a cover. We stayed in Provence for six months and were told this by locals numerous times. A friend left his camera for five minutes, and it was gone.