Copenhagen or Marseille
 

Hello-
My family and I are considering a house swap for a few weeks this summer. Two families are interested in our vacation home here in the US. We would then have an opportunity to spend a few weeks in either Marseille-Aix en Provence or Copenhagen-Allerod. Both exchanges include cars, so we will be able to explore. We are primarily interested in sightseeing. Any thoughts?

I think you just have to go with whatever appeals to you, there is no one answer. There is lots you can see within driving distance of Marseille, I love that area. Where exactly is the house, though, I would assume not in Marseille proper? YOu might also consider the climate as it will be very hot in Marseille in the summer (re cooling in the house).

The house is 30 minutes from Aix en Provence in a city called Plan Cuques. I should check if the house has AC, Thanks!

Perhaps I am being overly suspicious, but why give its distance from Aix-en-Provence when Marseille is much closer?

Although less well known, Scandinavia is well worth a visit and summer is the time to go !

With 2/3 day trips using ferries you can visit Oslo and Gothenburg as well as smaller places in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Skagen is worth a trip, and the ferry from Frederikshavn goes to Gothenburg allowing access to the Swedish west coast.

Copenhagen, Billund and Aarhus (worth a visit for the town itself)have cheap flights by Ryanair - http://www.ryanair.com - and Easyjet - http://www.easyjet.com - opening up cheap European weekends away. You could think of a long weekend in Southern Europe, say, Lisbon, Malta, Rome, or Corfu as a completely different experience.


Provence is a more obvious destination and is busy in summer.

I suppose they give the distance to Aix because they think folks who stay there would want to visit Aix, so they are telling them how far it is. I don't understand what implication there could be that would be suspicious. That is a suburb of Marseille to the north only a few km, on the way up the D908. If I wanted to stay in Provence, between Marseille and Aix would probalby not be the location, but I suppose you can't be that picky with a home exchange. The area itself I'm sure is boring being just a suburb of a major city.

Just so you know, Allerød is a good half hour drive from Copenhagen. There are commuter trains, and it is an affluent area, but you will not be right in the city. Still lots to see and do.

FWIW, France will likely be cheaper on the ground than Denmark.

I vote for Danmark. But, then again I lived in Copenhagen almost every summer for 20 years. Allerød is a really nice area. The best time to go to Copenhagen and area is in the summer. And if they still have the jazz festival, in Copenhagen in July, it's great fun. It was a tradition for many summers. Happy Travels!

copenhagen

No bad answer here. Whichever one appeals to you the most.

Myself, I would almost always choose France. Much better food, for one thing. And I love the French language and culture. But it will possibly be hot in the summer, and certainly hotter than Denmark. It will be less expensive though.

Denmark is very expensive. Many people speak English, though, so that might be helpful to you. It will almost certainly not be very hot, and it might be quite cool. When I visited Denmark a few years ago in the summer, it never really warmed up. The long daylight hours are quite magical in the summer.