Château de Monte-Cristo

About

The Château de Monte-Cristo (French pronunciation: [...) is a writer's house museum in Le Port-Marly in the Yvelines department in Greater Paris, France. It was originally built as a residence for writer Alexandre Dumas (1802–70).

History: The castle was designed by the architect Hippolyte Durand and built between 1844 and 1847 for writer Alexandre Dumas, at the cost of 500,000 francs. Dumas named it after his novel, The Count of Monte Cristo (1844). He called the castle his personal "paradise on earth". In 1848, short of money, Dumas sold the property for 31,000 francs. Between 1954 and 1964, the castle was the site of the British School of Paris. It fell into disrepair, and in 1969, its owners applied to replace the castle with 400 flats. The local authority bought and renovated the property. Since 1994, the two castles and gardens have been restored. The entire property is operated as a public historic museum memorializing Dumas.

Architecture: The castle is Neo-Renaissance in style, with three stores. Its facades are decorated with floral motifs, angels, and musical instruments, with a sculpture of a historical writer above each ground-floor...