Huge House, Tiny Castle

The Château de Monte-Cristo is a country house initially commissioned by Alexandre Dumas, the main country house was built in 1846 and designed by French architect, Hippolyte Durand. While the main building is a massive building, Dumas also commissioned a much smaller writing studio – a sort of miniature castle. The writing studio is named after a setting from one of Dumas’ novels; Château d’If.

Unfortunately for Dumas, he found himself short of money and in 1848 decided to sell the property. The properties were abandoned in the twentieth  century and fell into a state of disrepair until King Hassan II of Morocco financed the restoration, and since 1994 the two châteaux and gardens have been fully restored. The property is now a public history museum dedicated to Dumas.

Via Wikipedia