If Castle

Set off to discover the Château d’If, the location of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Set off to discover the Château d’If, the emblematic location of Alexandre Dumas’ book The Count of Monte Cristo.

To help you get the most out of your visit, this app enables you to explore the Château d’If with two brand new tours. You can choose to find out about its history or decipher the many graffiti left by prisoners. Go back to the 16th century, to the time when François I decided to build this fortress to defend the town from foreign invaders arriving by sea.

Let yourself be guided through this place suffused with history, starting from Marseille’s Vieux Port.

Travel light!

With our new visitors’ app, there is no need to be weighed down with all those brochures that fly off at the first gust of wind. This guide does not require any internet connection, so there is no need to worry even if you are alone on our island!

After many requests to give a better insight into this unique place marked by history, we have created this device, which will enable you to find out more about this unique place. Go straight to the home page and consult the practical information and ferry timetables in order to organise your visit as efficiently as possible. Choose one of the two new tours: a trip through If’s tumultuous history or an opportunity to decipher the many graffiti left by prisoners. These two circuits will enable you to explore all the nooks and crannies of the château so that you can leave this island knowing about its legends and the real events in its history.

This special site, managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux, has been listed as a historic monument since 1926. Embark at the Vieux Port in Marseille for a 20-minute ferry ride to the island of If. It is part of the Calanques National Park at the heart of the national parkland, and contains protected plants, some unique in France. From the terrace at the top of the Maugouvert Tower you will have a 360° panorama, a perfect view over Marseille. Set off to discover this fortress, whose imposing outline has dominated the skyline since the 16th century, the period when King François I decided to construct this building to defend the town from foreign invasion by sea. Let yourself be guided around this place steeped in history and the mythical location of the prison of Edmond Dantès, the future Count of Monte Cristo and hero of Alexandre Dumas’ novel. You will be following in the footsteps of this iconic character.

Whether with family or friends, you can each choose your own tour!