The town of Port Marly is very nice residential with beautiful properties we enjoyed a lot, This is of course in my memorable Yvelines dept 78 of the Île de France region of my belle France, I again, found me one older paper picture that I need to have in my blog, This was believe or not, where my dear late wife came for her cures on losing weight many years ago, and the castle was on the road to the clinic ! Voilà that is why ,,,,Its great for the culture and historical in me, Therefore, here is my take on the Château de Monte Cristo !!! Hope you enjoy it as I
The château de Monte-Cristo was the home of writer Alexandre Dumas ,he had it built between 1844 and 1847 in a park of 9 hectares, done on the English style at Port Marly. The town of Port-Marly is located 11 km from Versailles, 3 km from Saint-Germain-en-Laye and 20 km from Paris. Sublime !
In 1844, Alexandre Dumas had already made a name as playwright and embarked on the press which then knew his golden age. In the wake of Eugène Sue and the Mysteries of Paris, he has the idea of publishing in the century his first historical soap opera: The Three Musketeers. This immense success allows him to reimburse many debts and to consider the purchase of a country house near Saint-Germain-en-Laye where he then lived. It was during a walk in the forest of Marly that Dumas spots and buys the hillside overhanging the Seine in Port-Marly which will become its future terrestrial paradise as he called it, Dumas chooses to baptize its home the Château de Monte Cristo in reference to its second historical novel, The Count of Monte-Cristo.
The house sits in the middle of an English park with lawns, caves, rockeries, waterfalls, basins and rivers, benefiting advantageously from the relief of the hill. The facades are entirely and richly sculpted and there are multiple references to Dumas and its centers of interest: history, the arts and nature are declined there through floral patterns, putti angels, of musical, weapon instruments, a bestiary of fantastic animals, There is a medallion on the pediment of each window of the ground floor appearing in dramatic writers of all eras. On the pediment of the gateway, the coat of arms with three eagles of the Davy de la Pailleterie family, to which Dumas belonged is accompanied by the author’s personal motto: “I love me”. Its initials two D and one A intertwined closing the corners of bells crowning the bellings of the two house turrets.
Inside, (not been in ok) ,the ground floor houses salons and the dining room, central room for Dumas gastronome and cook, while on the first floor we then find the bedroom, the library, the bathroom and the famous Moorish living room, Following the 1848 French revolution (aka February revolution), Alexandre Dumas was loaded with debts, his Théâtre-Historique indeed went bankrupt. Forced to sell his property in March 1849, he nevertheless continued to occupied it until 1851, The domain was dilapidated from 1851 to 1894 and there was nothing left of the extraordinary furnishings of the house, sold to erase the debts of the author. The estate passes into the hands of different owners and unoccupied ended up deteriorating, In 1970, the estate was acquired by three towns: Port-Marly, Marly-le-Roi and Le Pecq via the Monte-Cristo Intercommunal Syndicate, in charge of its management and its operation. Jointly with the Société des Amis d’Alexandre Dumas (the assoc friends of AD), the restoration of the castle was launched ; many renovations work, the castle is now in good standing, In 1994, the museum opens to the public with the vocation of evoking its illustrious occupant.
The official Château Monte Cristo : https://www.chateau-monte-cristo.com/main/en/
The official association of Friends of Alexandre Dumas on the castle : https://www.dumaspere.com/pages/vie/lieux/chateau.html
The town of Port-Marly on the castle: https://www.port-marly.fr/Patrimoine%20historique/2093/35
The local Seine Saint Germain tourist office on the castle: https://www.seine-saintgermain.fr/en/beautiful-escapes/great-stories/a-journey-to-the-heart-of-alexandre-dumass-imagination/
The Yvelines dept 78 tourist office on the castle: https://www.destination-yvelines.fr/visites-et-decouvertes/le-chateau-de-monte-cristo-havre-de-paix-dalexandre-dumas/
The¨Île de France region tourist office on the castle : https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/chateau-de-monte-cristo
There you go folks, another dandy in off the beaten path Port Marly, worth the detour indeed. There are plenty other goodies by it and near it, a wonderful area see my post on the town in my blog, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Château de Monte Cristo !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 