Paris to Chamonix, then to points south

You're going to have to try to search rental rates.

It may vary substantially on where you pick up the car and where you return it.

I've returned cars to the GVA airport (not sure if it was the French side or the Swiss side but I drove it on the morning I was to return the car from Annecy, which is about an hour drive but there was quite a bit of traffic).

Also the rates may depend on whether you plan to drive in Switzerland and crossing over to France.

My recollection was that I rented a car in Geneva or somewhere else in Switzerland because the rates were higher if I tried to pick up in Chamonix. That was mainly because I think Chamonix is a smaller city and the rental car offices didn't have much inventory.

Be sure you pick up and return the car in the same country.

Decided to rent a car from the French Sector at the Geneva airport. Will take taxi to rental car area and will return the car in Nice. Hopefully it will not be be too much of a hassle. Thanks all!

So you're going to take a train from Paris to Geneva and then from the main train station in Geneva to the airport.

I do believe you can take a train to the airport.

Whether you can walk across to the French sector, I don't know.

Still going to be a one-way rental so it won't be cheap.

Possibly rent a car and drive around Geneva and Chamonix and then return the car in Geneva and take the train or a flight to Nice and then rent a car out there to drive around there.

Both Chamonix and Nice have difficult to find and expensive parking.

I have found a one way rental within France to not be overly pricey. We have only had small or non-existent drop off charges when returning a car, within France, at a different location. Perhaps some companies do charge a lot, or maybe things have changed fairly recently, but I wouldn't rule a one-way rental out.

Good point about price and difficulty finding parking in Nice.

Thanks for everyone's input! We are not staying in Nice, just flying home from there. Our apartments in Chamonix and Roquebrune Cap Martin both have parking spaces, so parking will not be an issue. We have been to Nice before, also by car, and know that parking in the old town can be hard to come by, but not impossible. We did not find the return to another location in France to be costly, and it seems to be the best way for three travelers to move around. It will be an adventure!

Glad your plans are shaping up well!

yes you need to rent the car on French side if returning it to Nice
check with renting car agency if you will have the motorway Swiss vignette included? as it will be 40€ extra if not or drive only in France which is longer...it can be a challenge to go to French side of the airport but you should be allowed to go with your boarding passes...
another option will be to go to France and get the car in Annemasse, St Julien or Annecy (will save you the Swiss troubles)

If you were going form Paris to Chamonix why book to Geneva? Just book Paris - Chamonix with SNCF.

Then rent a car from Chamonix for the rest of the trip.

This is a typical mistake I see people make all the time. You need to get from A to B. You believe erroneously that you need to get to C first and ask about how to get from C to B, whereas you should inquire about how best to get from A to B...

Another option that is a bit more straightforward if you want the rental in Chamonix as well is to take the TGV to Annecy (there are multiple direct ones per day) and rent the car from there.

If you can't cancel your TGV ticket to Geneva not all is lost. All TGV stop at Bellegarde, and you could still just leave the train there, and book a Bellegarde - Chamonix ticket separately.

I fully agree with WengenK. There are car rental offices in Chamonix, and if that doesn't work, I would cancel those train tickets to Geneva and rent a car in Annecy, right at the station - much more convenient than going to Geneva Airport.

Thanks for the recommendation to go thru Annecy. I had wanted to not deal with train connections, hence the train to Geneva, but one connection isnt too bad. I will look into changing train and renting our car in Annecy.

We switched our train to arrive in Annecy and have a reservation to pick up our car there. Thanks for the tip!

Glad all is going well in your planning!

Changing trains is no.biggy. It is a trivial part of train travel.
But Annecy is indeed a goot place to aim for. Has something like 6 direct trains from Paris per day.

Changing trains is actually difficult if you have mobility issues, as two of our group have. In Italy, we were taken to and from the train in a golf cart and the attendant brought our bags on and off the train. I hope we will have similar service on our upcoming Paris to Annecy trip. Thanks!

A few years ago we flew from London to Geneva. We walked through the airport to the French side where we picked up our rental car. The route through the airport from Swiss side to French side was clearly marked. I have a vague memory that there was some sort of security check point as we walked from Swiss side to French side but it was very low-key. The rental car desk (Europecar) was very close to the point where we entered the French side of the airport. The whole process was fairly simple to manage.

Changing trains is actually difficult if you have mobility issues, as two of our group have. In Italy, we were taken to and from the train in a golf cart and the attendant brought our bags on and off the train. I hope we will have similar service on our upcoming Paris to Annecy trip. Thanks!

There are many daily direct trains from Paris to Geneva, I suggest you take one of those.
If you can't, try to get a connection in Chambéry, it's much easier than in Lyon. Special assistance has to be requested in advance and is very hit-or-miss on French trains.

And if Annecy doesn't work after all, your train to Geneva should stop in Bourg-en-Bresse, which also has car rental offices at the station (Hertz & Avis, check hours). It's a 2-hour drive to Chamonix from there.

On Paris - Annecy there are several direct trains daily as well, which is why that is a good place to pick up a car for the rest of the trip in this case.