Chateau d'If

Made famous by Alexander Dumas’s novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, Chateau d’If is a must see when visiting Marseille. On the only decent weather day during Jean’s Dad, Jimmy’s (AKA Bubba), visit he and I gathered the girls, our friend Hanna and headed south to the big city.

After stopping for some Nutella crepes for the girls and beer for the boys, we boarded the boat for the ride outside the mouth of the harbor to visit the castle.

So the brief history: First conceived by Francis I in 1516, the walls were laid in 1524 to much the chagrin of the townsfolk (keep in mind Marseille was not yet annexed to France). In 1531, however, when Charles V of Spain tried to invade Marseille and was repelled by the fortifications at Chateau d’If the people on the mainland had a change of heart. It never saw combat again (until the Germans during WWII, of course, but by then this type of defense didn’t matter much.)

It was first used as a prison in 1580. But like all good jails, if you had enough money, the time spent wasn’t so bad. In fact, the first floor of the chateau is more a series of apartments than cells; complete with fireplaces and anterooms. This was because most of the prisoners were not criminals, but political prisoners who still had a boatload of cash to sit out their internment, or to await the coronation of a more favorable king. Of course, there are the dungeons for those who couldn’t afford the better rooms, which considering the humidity must have been pretty bad.

We had a great time running around the castle and the grounds until Bubba called upon us to hurry or else we’d miss the boat (which, as Lucie overheard, an American couple did and missed their cruise ship connection.) There was a sailboat race to watch on the way back. A good time was had by all!


Leaving Marseille harbor.


Local sunbathers on the seawall.


The chateau from the ferry.


The girls in jail!


Bubba telling us it's time to go.


Hanna and her "sisters".


The chateau with Marseille in the background.


Heading back! (Pic by Kathleen)