Château de Monte-Cristo

Le Port-Marly, France

The Château de Monte-Cristo is a writer's house museum located in the country home of the writer Alexandre Dumas. The château was built in 1846 by the architect Hippolyte Durand. Dumas named it after one of his most successful novels: The Count of Monte Cristo (1845–1846). Durand also built a writing studio on the grounds, which Dumas named the Château d'If after another setting from the same novel. In 1848, short of money, Dumas had to sell the property.

The château fell into disrepair by the 1960s, it was restored with the patronage of King Hassan II of Morocco, who financed the restoration of its Moorish room. Since 1994, the two châteaux and gardens have been restored. The entire property is operated as a public historic museum memorializing Dumas.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1846
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in France

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Sergio (10 months ago)
Ticket expensive for the level of interest to satisfy customers: few things original and properly correct for a museum about the home of a great writer. Trees and some parts of garden beautiful.
Claire Riedinger (12 months ago)
It is hard to believe that the house was in a state of ghastly neglect a few decades ago. Such a wonderful job has been done restoring it and its grounds. Really, a magical place. I really enjoy Alexandre Dumas's books. They are fun and thrilling. The man himself must have been quite a character. And it shows in what he had built for himself: his main house, the castle of Monte-Cristo, and the Castle of If, his writing studio. The grounds are quite fun too, with a bunch of caves here and there. The objects on exhibit give you a real glimpse into the man's life, and frankly, his life must have been sweet there at Monte-Cristo. The entrance fee is only 8€, which is a bargain for this oddity provided by one of our greatest and most prolific writer. And the staff is oh-so-friendly! This place is like no other, it feels like somebody's dream and it is. Really worth a visit.
Winter Bren (13 months ago)
If you are into the writings of Dumas you will like the visit. Set into beautiful parkland surrounded by a city. The parking lot is hard to find it at end of the hospital parking lot
Lisa Hong (15 months ago)
a total hidden gem! this was the former house of Alexandre Dumas, who wrote the Count of Monte Cristo, Three Musketeers, and others. You can walk up and buy tickets right there. Really well-preserved and many cool artifacts inside. Quite small so didn’t take us more than 1-2 hours to see everything. If you’re not local and don’t speak French it can be hard to find/get out of, I had to google translate for my LIFE to get an Uber outta here but the locals were so so kind and patient. Highly recommend.
Illan (2 years ago)
By coincidence was rereading count de monte Cristo so was a nice surprise to find this place From Paris we took the RER and than bus 10 (2 Euro each), once you reach what look like the entrance in the map you will need to keep walking up the street then first turn left and again left and in few minutes you will get to ticket/gift shop to enter the place. While most details are in French there is also some in English so best to come with someone that can read French as there are interesting fact and anecdotes.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Kakesbeck Castle

Kakesbeck is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Münsterland and the oldest castle in Lüdinghausen. The imposingly grown complex originated in 1120 as a motte, a small hilltop tower castle. After numerous changes of ownership, the castle was extended onto two islands, but it was not until the 14th century that it underwent significant alterations and extensions under the von Oer family. The estate experienced its heyday in the middle of the 18th century, when it covered an area of almost one square kilometre and consisted of five further outer castles in addition to the core castle, which were secured by ramparts and moats.

The well-maintained condition of the castle today is thanks to the late Wilfried Grewing, the former lord of the castle. The foundation named after him has been particularly committed to preserving the property since 2020.