Car rental return Italy, travelling onto France by train?

Genoa is large. Should be easy to return there and, as we did, take a train to Nice. We thought it was an easy trip Genoa to Nice on a high-speed French train. Book through Captain Train or SNCF.

Thank you Laurel for your quick reply and recommendation.

See also this thread from a few months back: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/is-picking-up-a-rental-car-in-san-remo-a-good-idea.

Thank you again Laura, we had looked at Sanremo but couldn't come up with any car rental return options. We also looked at Savona but as we have friends with us who are into train travel we will probably stick with Genoa as the price difference is not much difference. Tks again.

I once returned a leased car in Rome. We had an appointment, but the agent didn't show. He had to be tracked down and ended up getting there an hour late. Hopefully, the rental place in Genoa is big enough to have multiple employees and no unscheduled closings. If not, plan some slack time before you catch your train in case the return doesn't go as smoothly as Americans are used to.

Thank you Brad for the tip.

I once returned a leased car and I was the person who was late and heard that it wasn't cool. Leasing programs pair you with a specific car, which you're scheduled to pick up and drop off with a specific agent. That's different from regular rentals where they might give you almost anything they have on the lot.

Of course, in a sweeping generalization, it would not really surprise me if any business, museum, etc. in Italy just put up a "gone for espresso" sign and closed the door during expected business hours. So Brad's warning still applies.

it would not really surprise me if any business, museum, etc. in Italy just put up a "gone for espresso" sign and closed the door during expected business hours.

In France they have the dreaded "fermeture exceptionnel" sign. We once returned a car in Cahors on a Friday, to a rental agency that was in a gas station. There was a "fermeture exceptionnel" sign on the door. We were leaving Cahors the next morning, and then flying home the day after. I called the head office for the car rental company, and was told to park the car anywhere in the big municipal lot near the gas station (where the car already was parked), and drop the keys through the slot. I did so, but was a little worried. Everything worked out fine, though.