Château de Monte-Cristo
Le Port-Marly · France
The Château de Monte-Cristo is the fantastical home Alexandre Dumas built for himself at Le Port-Marly, west of Paris, in 1847 at the height of his fame and fortune. The main château — Renaissance Revival in style, encrusted with the names of his characters and works — is complemented by a small Moorish 'Château d'If' study cottage in the grounds, where Dumas worked and received guests. The whole property is an exuberant monument to literary celebrity.
The house is particularly notable for the decorative programme of the exterior, which reads like a bibliography of Dumas's imagination, and for the playful contrast between the grand château and the intimate working study. The influence of the author's legendary hospitality and his taste for the theatrical is evident throughout.
The Château de Monte-Cristo fell into ruin after Dumas's bankruptcy and was rescued by restoration in the twentieth century. Allow at least ninety minutes for the house, its study, and the grounds.
Reviews
Wonderfully eccentric and a fitting monument to one of literature's great entertainers. The Moorish study cottage is extraordinary. Dumas's personality radiates from every surface.
Fascinating if slightly melancholy — the restoration is incomplete but what's been done is excellent. The grounds are lovely and the Château d'If study is the highlight. Well worth visiting.
One of the most theatrical buildings I have ever seen. The names of Dumas's characters carved all over the façade, the Moorish interior, the beautiful grounds — a completely individual place.
Wonderfully eccentric and a fitting monument to one of literature's great entertainers. The Moorish study cottage is extraordinary. Dumas's personality radiates from every surface.
