Chateau d'If

Francis I had the fort built on the small island of If from 1524 to guard the approach to Marseille, and it soon became a prison instead, holding Protestants after 1685 and political prisoners into the nineteenth century. Its fame comes from Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo has Edmond Dantes imprisoned here for fourteen years and escaping by swapping places with a corpse. The staff long ago obliged the story by designating cells for Dantes and the Abbe Faria, complete with a hole between them, which visitors photograph knowing perfectly well that neither man existed. The terrace looks back at Marseille across the water.

What you actually see

• The Dantes and Faria cells - fictional prisoners' rooms marked for visitors.
• The prison levels - real cells graded by what prisoners could pay.
• The courtyard fort - the compact sixteenth-century structure.
• The Marseille view - the city and coast from the terrace.

When to go

April to October; boats are cancelled in strong mistral, which happens often, and the island closes in rough weather. Morning departures are less crowded.

Honest expectations

The crossing is regularly cancelled and there is no shelter or catering on the island beyond a small kiosk. The site is small and takes about an hour. The Monte Cristo cells are staged, not historical.

Nearby

The Frioul islands are on the same boat route; Marseille's Vieux-Port is the departure point.