If et Îles du Frioul Castel, Marseille

If express daily shuttles will take you to the Château d'If and the Frioul Islands, departing from the Vieux-Port (old port). The crossing to Château d'If takes about twenty minutes. It was constructed as a fortress under François I and served as a State Prison. Guided tours are available including visits to where Edmond Dantès and Abbe Faria were imprisoned according to Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. On the pier you can grab a bite to eat and perhaps buy a few souvenirs. From here, you can also enjoy a magnificent panorama of Marseille and its roadways. A further thirty-minute crossing brings you to the Frioul Islands, comprised of Rattoneau and Pomègues, which are linked by a sea wall built in the time of Louis XVIII. In the 1970's, the local council decided to transform the area into a bathing resort, with restaurants offering local specialties and a variety of places to take to the water, including coves, inlets and beaches.