Luggage left in our rental car while sightseeing in AIX
 

The only time we will have our luggage in our rental car (without us) is when we stop in AIX for a couple hours on our way from St. Remy to Antibes. I am planning to park in a lot or on the street while we sightsee and have lunch. I have read so much about not leaving anything in cars, including the trunk, that I'm a bit worried. Should I be worried? I thought of storing our suitcases at the train station, but I'm not sure there are luggage storage lockers there. I asked on another post and it was suggested that I bring a small flexible bicycle lock to attach the suitcase handles to someplace sturdy inside the trunk. I'm hoping there is another option! Hoping I can back up to a wall while in the parking lot? Maybe storing them at a hotel? What do you suggest?

P.S. 20 years ago I was traveling with a friend who had her suitcase taken from the locked trunk of the car while we stayed overnite in Carpentras - she handled it a lot better than I would have.

Sometimes this scenario - though not ideal - is unavoidable when travelling. I've certainly left our full set of luggage in the boot (trunk) of a hire car on many occasions without incident (not just in France but also even in crime hot-spots such as southern Africa). I'd definitely seek out a busy car park (and back right up against the wall so it's physcially impossible to open the trunk) or on-street parking in an area with plenty of pedestrians. Don't leave anything in view and don't leave any very high value items (passports, credit cards, expensive jewelry etc) in the car at all. For a few hours during the daytime this is relatively low risk.

Thanks for your assurance. We'll plan on being pro-active with the parking.

(Somehow I posted twice - thought I was previewing!)

In the middle of the day in a busy area, or even in an underground lot with videosurveillance, your baggage should be totally safe. "Overnight" and "deserted streets" are what cause 99% of the problems.

One idea that I thought was valuable, was that someone said to put a local newspaper on the front passenger's seat.

Usually, locals aren't ripped off by these kinds of theives.