Summary:
Any recommendations for where to rent a car, other than the airport, walkable to a train station, in the center or north of Rome?
Details:
I will be flying from the USA to the Rome airport in late June. We will be arriving in late morning (10:55 am) and will need to rent a car to be at Montalcino by evening, where we will be staying with family. I have been to Rome before, though it has been a very long time, but my husband has not. It looks like we will have a few extra hours to spare. During our time in Montalcino, we will spend time exploring the small towns in the surrounding area, but we don't plan to go back down towards Rome, as we will be making our way north after our time in Tuscany. I thought it might be nice to head into Rome and do one thing before leaving the area. Though my husband has expressed interest in seeing the Vatican, it doesn't seem like we would have time for that, but perhaps we could do something that doesn't require a tour, even if that means having lunch at one of the famous piazzas and then walking around for an hour.
That being said, the easiest way to rent a car would be to pick up one at the airport and head north, circumventing Rome altogether. I have never driven in Rome myself, but remember it being very hectic. It looks like it's very easy to take the train into the city, but once we get there, we would need to be able to rent a car from the city center, along with finding luggage storage.
If we do go to the city center, can someone recommend where to rent a car? Is there a suburb north of Rome that is an easy train ride out and has major car rental brands walkable from the station? Does Rome have short term luggage storage, like lockers, at the train station in the city center? I used lockers frequently when backpacking in the past, but I understand many stations have gotten rid of them. Also, we would need a major rental company because it would be a one-way car rental and we need an automatic vehicle with a carseat (we will have our almost-2-year-old, who enjoys riding in the baby-carrier, as well as exploring new places). I know airports tend to have better selection, but I don't know if that means renting elsewhere is prohibitive. I'll be looking into the exact selection as soon as we can lower it down, but it was difficult to figure it out from scratch just using a general google search for car rental locations near Rome, so I was hoping for some insider tips first.
Any recommendations for how to navigate this is appreciated. I know the easiest thing is to just skip Rome, I just think if it seems like a missed opportunity if it will actually work out including it. I also realize that we are not seeing all of Rome in a few hours. That isn't our intention. We are just going to be in the area with a little free time and it would be something very different than what we will be doing the rest of the trip (beautiful countryside and small villages/towns/cities).
Thank you!