Short answer. If a place was named when the thing was left, the keeper must bring it there — but you pay the transport. If no place was named, the return happens wherever the thing is, even if that is not where you handed it over, provided the keeper acted without malice.
What the law says
If at the time the deposit was made a place was designated for the return of the thing, the depositary must take the thing deposited to such place; but the expenses for transportation shall be borne by the depositor.
Civil Code, Article 1987 — Place of Return. Read the full provision →
Two rules, and which one applies
Article 1987 covers both situations. Where a place was agreed: If at the time the deposit was made a place was designated for the return of the thing, the depositary must take the thing deposited to such place; but the expenses for transportation shall be borne by the depositor. Where none was agreed, the return shall be made where the thing deposited may be, even if it should not be the same place where the deposit was made, provided that there was no malice on the part of the depositary. Everything turns on what was said when the thing changed hands.
Naming a place binds the keeper — but you pay
Where a place was designated, the keeper cannot insist that you come and collect. He must bring the thing there. The cost, however, is not his: the expenses for transportation shall be borne by the depositor. That split is deliberate. Delivering the thing where you asked is part of what he agreed to do; paying to move your own property around the country is not a burden the law puts on a person who was only holding it for you. If you want that cost carried by someone else, it has to be agreed, and a paid arrangement will normally say so in its own terms.
Where nothing was agreed
If no place was named, the thing goes back wherever it happens to be. That is a practical rule and it can be inconvenient: goods stored in one province need not be hauled to the city where you first handed them over. The safeguard is the closing phrase, provided that there was no malice on the part of the depositary. A keeper who moved the thing somewhere remote or awkward in order to make return difficult, or to squeeze something out of you, cannot shelter behind the rule. Ordinary, honest reasons for the thing being where it is will do.
Getting ahead of the problem
Name the place of return when you hand the thing over — one line in a receipt removes the entire argument. Ask to be told if the thing is moved, and to where. When you want it back, make the demand in writing and state both the date and the place, because the record of that demand matters: a keeper's delay in returning carries consequences of its own. If a keeper will not return the thing at all, or you suspect it has been moved to frustrate you, take advice promptly, as claims of this kind are subject to time limits.