Château de Monte-Cristo (Monte Cristo Castle)

Château de Monte-Cristo (Monte Cristo Castle) Review

If you're fond of the swashbuckling novels of Alexandre Dumas then you can enjoy the Château de Monte-Cristo at Port-Marly on the southern fringe of St-Germain (signposted to your left as you arrive from Marly-le-Roi). Dumas built the château after the surging popularity of his books made him rich in the 1840s. Construction costs and lavish partying meant he went broke just as quickly, and he skedaddled into a Belgian exile in 1849. The château contains pictures, Dumas mementos, and the luxurious Moorish Chamber, with spellbinding, interlacing plasterwork executed by Arab craftsmen (lent by the Bey of Tunis) and restored thanks to a donation from the late Moroccan king Hassan II.