Famously depicted in Alexandre Dumas’ well-known 19th century story ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’, Château d’If is the fortress where Edmund Dantès’ – the main fictional character in Dumas’ book – was held prisoner.  Situated 3.5 kms west of the coast of the Old Port of Marseille, the island is the smallest island in the Frioul archipelago covering only 0.03 km². It is also the smallest island I have visited during the 53 island project. The actual name of the island is Île d’If  (island of the yew tree).

The lighthouse

The fortress itself is a square, three-storey building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun placements. It was built in 1524-31 on the orders of King Francis I who visited in 1516 and considered the island to be a strategically important location for defending the coastline from sea-based attacks. In real life the island’s location combined with the dangerous offshore currents of the surrounding waters made it an ideal escape-proof prison and it became one of France’s most infamous prisons and has housed thousands of prisoners over the centuries. In the book, Dantès makes a daring escape from the castle after 14 years of imprisonment, the first person ever to do so and survive. In reality, no one is known to have actually done this.

Me on the Edmund Dantes

Inside the fortress

The centre well

View from the wall

Steps to the cells

Fortress walls

Dad and I

In those days, prisoners were treated differently according to their class and wealth. The poorest were placed at the bottom, with twenty or more confined to a cell in windowless dungeons under the castle. The wealthiest inmates were able to pay for their own private cells higher up, with windows, and a fireplace.

Dad on board the boat

View of Friol islands

A flight of stone steps leads up from the water where visitors are deposited by one of the boats that runs a regular service from Marseille’s Old Port throughout the day. (Our boat was called the Edmund Dantès.) A steady flow of tourists visit the island all year round. The fortress is now an interesting museum, showing how conditions used to be when it was a prison.  There are stunning views from the top of the tower back across the water to the city of Marseille and the surrounding coastline. Apart from the fortress, the island has a lighthouse and the old barracks have been made into the ticket office, some loos and in high season a little café. Other than that it is uninhabited.

My Dad, Dennis, has been an enthusiastic supporter of 53 islands since the beginning so I thought it would be nice if he came along to visit an island or two with me.  We visited Château d’If on a day trip whilst staying in Marseille for a few days. My Dad remembered The Count of Monte Cristo being serialised on the radio years ago and how everyone looked forward to the next exciting instalment. (I must admit I haven’t read it yet!)  My Dad is not a lover of boats but he humoured me and came along for the ride! Thanks Spraitley!

View from Friol islands

From Ile Ratonneau

It’s an interesting little island to visit especially if you’ve read The Count of Monte Cristo, the museum is well done and the fortress is an impressive building.  There are great views back to Marseille and on a sunny day, it’s a lovely scenic little boat trip.

NEXT ISLAND: Staying in the Frioul Archipelago we nipped over to the Île Rattoneau