Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo. Many political prisoners were incarcerated here, including the Revolutionary hero Mirabeau and the Communards of 1871. Other than the island itself there’s not a great deal to see, but it’s worth visiting just for the views of the Vieux Port. Frioul If Express runs boats (return €11, 20 minutes, up to 10 daily) from Quai de la Fraternité.
Getty Images/Hemis.fr RM
Château d’If
Marseille
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.13 MILES
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
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2.61 MILES
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Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
2.16 MILES
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18.1 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
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Nearby Marseille attractions
0.62 MILES
Around nine kilometres west of Marseille lie the dyke-linked limestone islands of Ratonneau and Pomègues, known jointly as the the Îles du Frioul…
1.38 MILES
Nestled around this picture-postcard fishing village, a remnant of old maritime Marseille long since swallowed by modern sprawl, are traditional cabanons …
1.68 MILES
The small, bustling, beach-volleyball-busy Plage des Catalans is the closest stretch of sand to the Vieux Port.
1.94 MILES
Perched high above the southern side of the Vieux Port are the six immaculately grassed hectares of the Jardin du Pharo, the grounds of the Palais du…
2.04 MILES
Guarding the southern side of Marseille’s harbour (and threatening its sometimes rebellious citizens, who attempted to destroy it during the Revolution)…
2.14 MILES
Intended as much to control the citizens of Marseille as guard them from external threat, Fort St-Jean was built by Louis XIV in 1660 on the site of a…
7. Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
2.16 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
2.17 MILES
To the west of the Vieux Port lies Abbaye St-Victor, the birthplace of Christianity in Marseille, built on a 3rd century BC necropolis. It's €2 to visit…