Chateau d'If in Marseille
 

Hi, I tried to look for the info about Chateau d'If in Marseille. My tourist book said that it is off on every Monday, while my friend said it should be opened daily. We try to search for the official info to confirm, but couldn't get one. Can anyone help me?

P.S. we are only staying in Marseille for one day and will be leaving on Tue morning, so whether Cheateua d'If open on Mon or not, becomes a very critical question on our itinery planning.. thanks!!

I was just at the Chateau D'If in March (went on a Friday). I looked at my pamphlet from the Chateau and yes, it is open daily from 9:30 am - 6:30 pm.

You buy your ticket for the boat and depart from the quai des Belges. The price for the RT boat ride is ~ 7,60 euros, and the admission to the Chateau was 4,60 euros. The boats came and went approx every 2 hours, but I wouldn't chance staying until 6:30 pm. We went around 11 am and stayed until about 3 pm, which was more than enough time to see everything, walk around, etc. We were there on a particularly breezy, cool day which worked out nicely because we got some incredibly beautiful, clear photos of the Marseille coastline and the adjoining islands. It was a great place to visit and an experience I won't forget!

Hi Huitres, it's good to know that it opens daily! so my friend and I could go there on Monday afternoon... by the way, what time would be the best one for visit? Morning or the afternoon?

Oh, the boat came and went approx every 2 hours! I am afraid I would have missed the boat and need to wait for 2 hours there! What can I do to check the boat time in order to better plan ahead?

Thanks again, Huitres!

Hi Vivian: Monday mid-morning or early afternoon should be fine! If you get down to the harbor prior, you could stop for lunch at one of the many seafood restaurants around the water. (When we returned after 3:30 pm, malheureusement, everything was closed up already and wouldn't be re-opening until the dinner hour! :-( We missed eating bouillabaise that day). However, there is also a little crepe place/shack adjacent to the boat ticket office (to your L) that made some very good, inexpensive crepes (2 euros) that we wrapped up and took with us on the boat ride out to the Chateau D'If.

The ride out there isn't long (~ 35 mins). Because the boats going back and forth aren't every hour, there is usually a group of people waiting at the "dock" area on the Chateau D'If for the next boat. You can't really "miss the boat" because the Chateau D'If is small, if you are out walking around on the top, you can see where the boats come up and dock, and still have plenty of time to get down there before they go back (it takes awhile for them to load all the people in). Alternatively, you could get a list of departure times when you buy your boat ticket in Marseille or just ask one of the seamen on the boat going over. That's what I did and then planned around that. It gave us plenty of time to walk around the prison, take pictures, etc. I don't want to over-rate the place, it's not out of this world, but it is really, really interesting to me (I am an historian and also loved "The Count of Monte Cristo") so it was neat to be there. Have a great time!

The boat schedule depends on the time of year, and in summer they are every hour or so. The boats also serve Iles Frioul which are permanently inhabited and have restaurants, etc. Frioul has a sheltered harbour, but Chateau d'If does not, so if the sea is choppy, the boats cannot land there and the Chateau stays closed. The return boat trip to Frioul takes about an hour and gives good views of the Vieux Port of Marseille and of the Chateau d'If even if landing at the Chateau is not possible.