We spent our last days and nights in France there before moving back to the U.S. and we just loved it!

Thanks, st.-germain, for the information on Dumas's house. I don't think we'll have time to get out there on this trip, but definitely on the next. I love St.-Germain-en-Laye, and we still have a lot to see in the area.

Jtarot

I have an apartment in Paris but I spend most of my time in Washington, D.C. As for Dumas, he had amassed a small fortune following the commercial successes of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. With this money he built the Château de Monte-Cristo. The château’s modest size was compensated by its wild reputation. The grounds were populated with exotic fowl, monkeys and unusual dogs. To escape the chateau, Dumas devised two solutions. One was a secret passage letting him flee the castle, as if he were a character in one of his own tales. The second was less clandestine: a stone’s throw from the larger house, he built the Château d’If, an even more fantastical, Disneyesque playpen surrounded by water.

In 1848, due to personal bankruptcy, Dumas sold off his furnishings, and the house itself a year later for one-seventh of its original worth. Over the decades, the entire estate fell into ruin until being rescued in 1971 and reopened in 1994.

The Château de Monte-Cristo is between Avenue du Président-Kennedy and Chemin des Montferrands, Le Port-Marly. Take the RER A to Saint-Germain-en-Laye or SNCF train from Saint-Lazare, direction Saint Nom-le-Bretèche to Marly-le-Roi; then Bus CGEA 10, stop at "Square Monte-Cristo.

St.Germain, could you please be a little bit more explicit?
Btw. are you, according to your login name, from here?

Some history about the castle of St. Germain by http://www.musee-antiquitesnationales.fr/h...d20392_u1l2.htm :

1122 Louis VI founded the «Grand Châtelet » on the Laye still covered with forests. Louis IX, called 'Saint Louis' made it one of his favorite residences. Between 1230 and 1238 he builds the chapel. In 1346 the city and the castle was destroyed by the troops of the 'Prince Noir' the son of the king of England. Only Charles V came back to Saint-Germain. He built a new castle between 1364 and 1367.

François I build in 1539 a new castle on the foundations of Charles V. In 1559 the castle had a surface of 8'000 m2. It had 55 apartments, a ballroom, seven chapels, one kitchen and a prison.

Henri II build at the end of the today's terrace the «Château Neuf» finished by Henri IV.

Louis XIV left the «Château Neuf» because it took water and moved into the Château Vieux. The court shared 63 apartments. It is said that the favorite ladies of the king lived together more or less well. Madame de Montespan, Louise de la Valière and Madame de Maintenon lived together in the Château Vieux. Madame de Montespan shared even an apartment with her rival Louise de la Valière.

The 20 of April 1682 the king left Saint-Germain for Versailles. 1689 Louis XIV offered the castle to his cousin Jacques II Stuart, king of England. Jacques II lived there until his death in 1701. He is buried in the church of Saint-Germain.

Under Napoeon I it became a cavalry school, a caserne and a military prison under Louis-Philippe.

In 1862 Napoleon III made it the « Musée des Antiquités celtiques et gallo-romaines ». The inner court of the castle is one of the most beautiful courts of the Renaissance to see.

It is a great place to visit and the town has some nice shops and restaurants. Also, a visit to Dumas' house nearby is worth the detour. There is a bus near the chateau that takes you there and back easily.

I agree completely on Saint-Germain-en Laye, And from L'Eotile, it's only about 15 minutes on the RER.

My favorite destination outside Paris is Saint-Germain-en-Laye!

Information’s by: http://www.ville-st-germain-en-laye.fr/:
Département. Yvelines, population: 40162, area: 4827 ha with 3526 ha of national forest land (1 hectare= 2.471 acres). Sister cities: Aschaffenburg (Germany, 1975), Témara (Morocco, 1982), Ayr (Scotland, 1984), Winchester (USA, 1990), Konstançin (Poland, 1992).

According to Helgaud, the monk who wrote the biography of Hugh Capet's son, Robert the Pious (970-1031), "The king had a monastery dedicated to Saint Germain of Paris and erected a church, dedicated to Saint-Vincent in the forest of Laye"
A small town developed around this Saint Germain monastery and the castle, which was built in the 12th century by Louis VI the Great. Hence the name "Saint-Germain".

Saint-Germain-en-laye's three treasures:
- The famous terrace, which was designed by and built under the supervision of André Le Notre, from 1669 to 1673, is 2.4 km long. It overlooks the Seine valley with a panoramic view of Paris and its vicinity.
- The national forest, the finest jewel of our city, is what remains today of an immense, wooded massif, which at the time of the Gauls surrounded Paris and stretched from Rambouillet to the forest of Fontainebleau. The surface-area of the forest measures 3,526 hectares, and includes splendid oaks planted during Louis XIV's reign.
- The "old Castle" ("Château Vieux"), formerly a royal residence, was transformed into the National Museum of Antiquities by Napoleon III in 1862.

The easiest access is by:
• RER - 08 92 68 77 14 - www.ratp.fr />• RER Station: line "A" of the RER (Boissy-St-Léger / Saint-Germain-en-Laye) from RER stations: Gare de Lyon, Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile, La Défense.

To be exact: it is line A1. And if you have a 'Carte orange ’ it is cheaper to change at la Défense. On RER you pay by distance. Attention: keep your ticket – you will need it to leave the station at your destination

There are several museums: http://www.ville-st-germain-en-laye.fr/cto/de/mu.html

My favorite one is the 'Musée des Antiquités nationales’ in the ‚ 'Château Vieux’ ('déformation professionelle’). But even if you are not interested in a roundup of the French prehistory, the castle itself is worth the visit.
http://www.musee-antiquitesnationales.fr/

Also very interesting is the park next to the 'château’ with the terrace de Le Notre, where you can look down on Paris. It is beautiful to walk on this 2.4km long and 30m wide esplanade (good weather supposed).