I will be returning a rental car to an AVIS location in Rome and will be staying at Scalinata di Spagna at the top of the Spanish Steps. I can't decide whether to drop off the car at one of the airports outside of the city or whether to maneuver to the hotel to drop off the luggage and then return the car to a city location (there seems to be a location near the Villa Borghese). Any suggestions?
Dona

It all depends. Weekday or weekend? What time approximately? , For instance, on Sunday morning there is virtually NO auto traffic in the city center. On weekdays during AM & PM rush hour, it's mayhem.

On Sunday morning, Avis will probably not be open. Several years ago we dropped off a car in the same area during the week. Other than many one way streets, driving really didn't seem to be much of a problem. I would find out their hours a head of time, perhaps email them to see where to return the car. Sometimes, the car is returned to a parking lot in the area. i wouldn't drive out of the city; too far away. Email or call AVIS to get their suggestions.

YOu can go to the avis site (www.avis.com) and check on the hours of any of their locations.

I wouldn't drive within Rome if I didn't have to.

Don't let the naysayers scare you about driving the car into rome to drop it off. It's really not very difficult - just make sure you have a good map. (Not that I would recommend driving in rome as a regular form of transport - a car doesn;t make sense - like for any other large city.)

I will probably be returning sometime between 11 and 2 on a Wednesday.
The last time I tried returning a car in Rome, I had to pay a taxi driver to lead me to the car return place - then it was closed, although it was supposed to be open, Had to have the cab driver lead me back to the hotel - and I abandonned the car with the hotel. They returned it for me.
I'm a seasoned city driver - but this was a nightmare!

Drive in then. The AVIS location you mentioned is particularly easy to get to: near the intersection of Corso D'Italia and Via Vittorio Veneto. Traffic should also be flowing smoothly Wednesday mid-day.

I notice that Via Sardegna, location of the AVIS return, goes in opposite directions at Via Marche. Does anyone know between what streets 38A Via Sardegna is located?