My wife and I are going to be in Nice in either December or January and staying at La Perouse. Anyone know anything about it?<BR><BR>Also, anyone have any tips about being there that time of year? Is it good, bad, etc.?<BR><BR>We're then flying to Sweden to pick up a car through the Volvo Overseas Delivery program. Anyone done that lately and have anything to say about it?<BR><BR>thanks

David,<BR><BR>My husband and I stayed at La Perouse for a week in mid-February 2001. The building is interesting, I believe it's an old prison. The elevator was very small, could only fit one person plus luggage in it, without luggage probably three people would fit.<BR> <BR>It took a while to figure out the lay-out of the hotel. Our suite was nice, on the second or third floor, with a small balcony overlooking the Promenade and the Mediterranean. Beautiful view! The breakfast area is actually in the courtyard, very nice, and there's a sauna, hot tub and a pool on the roof. The service was good, the room was clean, and the location of the hotel was great. Just a few minutes walk away from Old Town and the outdoor market area, Cours de Saleya (spelling?). They sell a little bit of everything there, flowers, fish, fruit, and on Mondays I believe it's all antiques.<BR><BR>You'll love Nice and the Riviera in general. We travel a lot, and it's definitely one of our favorite areas. You can easily take the train to Cannes, Monaco, and even cross over to Italy and back in a day.<BR><BR>The weather was sunny and beautiful in February, but chilly enough where we only wore shorts one day. If I had to do it over, I'd probably wait until March or April to go (in the summer I've heard it's very hot and crowded). You should be fine though, just bring jackets and long pants, I don't know if you may expect some rain in Jan-Dec.<BR><BR>I have a Volvo S-40 myself, a 2000 model, and just love it. Haven't had any trouble with it yet, Volvos last forever and are very safe cars.<BR><BR>I believe the Volve factory is in Goteborg, and of course you'll fly into Stockholm. Don't know about your arrangements for transportation when picking the car up, but I hope you will allow enough time for a day or two in Stockholm. It's a beautiful city, the public transportation is great, the Old Town is very nice. Take a bus sightseeing tour, about 90 minutes long, leaves at the Gustav Adolfs Torg, is about $17 per person, and really helps you see a large part of the city (I assume they run in the winter, too). <BR><BR>Be prepared for at least some snow in Southern Sweden. If you plan on touring the country, the traffic is pretty light, except in the bigger cities, drivers are generally polite, and there's definitely a lot to see, since it is a beautiful and very clean country with a lot of history.<BR><BR>Hope some of this helps, have a great time on your trip!<BR><BR>Benita

Benita-<BR><BR>Thanks so much for the great advice! We're looking forward to seeing Nice and all the rest in the area.<BR><BR>Looks like we may have two days to take day-trips. I'd love your tips on the best two places to go. Anywhere we could ski within a fairly short train trip for the day?<BR><BR>Thanks again and I hope we like our Volvo as much as you like yours. We cannot wait...

I was there in late November last year and stayed at La Perouse. Fantastic location but parking (just to register) is a real bitch. <BR><BR>Nice is so conveniently located. You might consider going to Sospel or northwest into Provence,assuming you have a car. The weather may be iffy but there are plenty of things to do. If no car, there is the flower market in the Old City(buy some saffron)to one side of your hotel, the Port on the other. You should really enjoy it (just don't go drive on the back streets in Nice. They make Italian drivers seem tame).

David,<BR><BR>I'm not sure in which country you meant you'd have time for a couple day trips, France or Sweden, so I'll address them both.<BR><BR>In France if you don't have a car, you can easily take the train to perhaps Cannes and even St. Tropez in a day. Monaco is definitely a must for the second day, it's a very small country but very interesting and beautiful. You could even continue on the same train to Italy, since it's also very close. The trains run fairly often and tickets are inexpensive. We even took the bus (to Cannes) one day, but it's much slower than the train, since it stops in every small village.<BR><BR>In Sweden you'd maybe want to go to Uppsala, a nice town with a great university. Vadstena Slott (castle) is also located close to Stockholm, and I think it's definitely worth a visit. I can't recommend any skiing close by, check with either the chamber of commerce or the concierge at your hotel could probably help.<BR><BR>Driving in Sweden is definitely much easier than in France. There's so many nice places close to Stockholm you'll probably wish you had more time!<BR><BR>Enjoy!<BR><BR>Benita