Château d'If, Medieval fortress in Frioul Islands, France
The square fortress rises from a small rocky island, featuring three floors with thick stone walls and three defensive towers with gun positions.
King Francis I ordered the construction of Château d'If between 1524 and 1531 to protect Marseille's harbor from naval invasions.
Alexandre Dumas selected this fortress as the central location for his 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo, featuring the fictional prisoner Edmond Dantès.
Boats depart regularly from Marseille's Old Port to the fortress, with guided tours available from July through September each year.
The fortress contained different cell categories, where wealthy prisoners received furnished rooms while others stayed in windowless underground chambers.
Location: Frioul Islands
Inception: 1527
Architectural style: medieval architecture
Website: https://chateau-if.fr/es
GPS coordinates: 43.27986,5.32514
Latest update: June 23, 2025 09:36
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region depicts a land where architecture narrates a thousand years of history between sea and mountains. From the 12th-century Cistercian abbeys to the brutalist experiments of Le Corbusier, this area features an exceptional built heritage shaped by Mediterranean light. You can find fortresses perched on rocky promontories, Romanesque monasteries where Van Gogh depicted his struggles, and contemporary museums that interact with the blue of the Mediterranean. Vineyards contain large-scale sculptures, the perched villages of Luberon display their medieval architecture in light stone, and Belle Époque villas in Cap d'Antibes mark the golden age of the Riviera. Between the limestone cliffs of the Calanques and the alpine valleys carved with prehistoric signs, Provençal architecture follows the contours of the land, capturing shadow and warmth, blending tradition and modernity. From the port of Marseille to the hanging gardens of Èze, each building bears the mark of a region where Cistercian builders, military engineers, visionary artists, and contemporary architects have inscribed their visions in stone, concrete, and landscape.
The route connects Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica, the old port and Calanques National Park with historical buildings. The locations display the maritime history, urban architecture and coastal landscape of Marseille.
This selection presents notable photography locations across Marseille, from the Vallon des Auffes fishing port to the Byzantine architecture of La Major Cathedral. The route includes historic structures like Fort Saint-Jean, natural sites such as Calanque de Morgiou, and architectural landmarks including the Palais Longchamp and Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse.
Abbey of St. Victor
3.5 km
Palais du Pharo
3.1 km
Fort Saint-Jean
3.5 km
Fort Saint-Nicolas
3.3 km
Marseille marigraph
2.3 km
Villa Valmer
2.4 km
Hôpital Caroline
617 m
Chateau d’If
0 m
Monument aux morts de l'Armée d'Orient et des terres lointaines
2.2 km
Phare de Sainte Marie
3.4 km
Interior of Saint-Victor
3.5 km
24 Hour Beach
2 km
Monument aux héros et victimes de la mer
3.2 km
Fort Saint-Jean
3.4 km
Canoubier turret
1.2 km
La Désirade
2.9 km
Frioul archipelago
1.8 km
Plage du Prophète
3.1 km
Église Saint-Eugène
2.3 km
Tour du Fanal
3.4 km
Jardin Émile Duclaux
3.1 km
Anse de Maldormé
2.1 km
Scenic viewpoint
3.4 km
Plage des Catalans
2.7 km
Tour du roi René
3.5 km
Jardin Missak Manouchian
3.3 km
Chapelle Saint-Étienne de l'île de Ratonneau
1.7 km
Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Passions de l'île d'If
22 mReviews
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