Landmark Europe
Cordouan Lighthouse
Cordouan Lighthouse is a tall stone lighthouse standing in the sea off France. Its light helps ships find their way!
Cordouan Lighthouse stands on a rocky plateau in the sea where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gironde estuary in France. Building began in 1584 and finished in 1611, and in 1788-1789 the tower was made taller. It still guides ships today and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
Cordouan Lighthouse rises from a rocky plateau in the open sea at the mouth of the Gironde estuary. Begun in 1584 by the engineer Louis de Foix and finished in 1611, it was raised in 1788-1789 by the engineer Joseph Teulère. UNESCO calls its limestone tower, with eight levels rising 67 m above sea level, a masterpiece of maritime signalling.
Photo: Rémih, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Cordouan Lighthouse
Cordouan Lighthouse is in France.
It stands all alone in the sea, on rocks. Sandbanks around it appear when the tide goes out.
Cordouan Lighthouse stands a few kilometers out at sea, on a rocky plateau where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gironde estuary in France. Sandbanks around it appear at low tide, and visitors can reach it only by boat.
For more than 400 years it has guided ships sailing to and from the port of Bordeaux. UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 2021.
UNESCO describes a highly exposed and hostile setting, hazardous for shipping, which is also the lighthouse's reason for being: since the 16th century it has been a beacon for ships trading between Bordeaux and the rest of the world. The site's managers note that the plateau is surrounded by sandbanks uncovered at low tide and that the lighthouse can be reached only by boat.
The World Heritage property covers 23,582 ha. The lighthouse has been a classified Historic Monument since 1862 and belongs to the French state.
- Where
- Mouth of the Gironde estuary, France
- Height above sea level
- 67 m
- Built
- 1584–1611, raised 1788–1789
- World Heritage Site
- 2021
A lighthouse fit for a king
Building the lighthouse in the sea took 27 years!
Later, builders made it even taller so its light could shine farther.
In the 1300s a tower with a fire on top stood on Cordouan to guide sailors. When it fell into ruin, Henri III, the king of France, asked the architect Louis de Foix to build a new lighthouse. Work began in 1584 and ended in 1611, 27 years later. Louis de Foix died before it was finished.
In the 1780s sailors complained that its light did not reach far enough. Joseph Teulère raised the tower in 1788-1789, and Cordouan took the shape it has today.
The site's managers describe a 14th-century fire tower on the island that later fell into ruin. In 1584 Louis de Foix began a new lighthouse for Henri III; Henri IV continued it and added rooms for the king and a chapel, and the work ended in 1611. It was then a round tower of three floors, 37 m high.
In the 1780s the upper part was in very poor condition and sailors complained of its short range. Teulère won a competition launched in 1786 and raised the tower in 1788-1789, keeping the Renaissance building (except its lantern). The official site says the upper part is plainer, in a late-18th-century style.
Stone, columns and carving
The lighthouse is made of pale stone blocks.
It is decorated with columns and carvings.
The tower is built of blocks of white limestone. It is decorated with pilasters, columns and carvings, and it has eight levels. UNESCO says it was planned from the start as a monument.
The lower floors show the influence of ancient times, Italy and the Renaissance. The plainer upper part was added in 1788-1789, and UNESCO calls that addition a masterpiece.
A ring-shaped base protects it from the waves. In the 1900s and 2000s, major repair works were carried out on this base.
UNESCO says the tower of white limestone dressed blocks is decorated with pilasters, columns, modillions and gargoyles, and that it was conceived from the start as a monument. De Foix's tower draws on antiquity and Italy and on Renaissance Mannerism; Teulère's addition is, in UNESCO's words, a masterpiece of French stereotomy in late-18th-century Neoclassical style.
The ring-shaped base, a protection against the waves, has needed major works in the 20th and 21st centuries, and restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries added the ring of buildings and restored the rooms inside.
A light that reaches 40 kilometers
At night the light flashes three times, again and again.
Sailors far out at sea can see it!
Today Cordouan's light reaches 40 kilometers out to sea. It flashes three times every 12 seconds.
In 1823 the scientist Augustin Fresnel tested a new kind of stepped lens here. The Fresnel lens changed lighthouse lighting, and most lighthouses in the world use one today.
A 250-watt bulb and a new rotating screen make up today's lighting system, powered through two banks of ten batteries charged by five generators, and the light is monitored around the clock. Its range is 40 km, with a rhythm of three flashes in 12 seconds. France's lighthouse service runs the light from Le Verdon-sur-Mer.
In 1823 Augustin Fresnel tested a prototype stepped lens at Cordouan; the official site says the Fresnel lens now equips most lighthouses in the world. UNESCO notes that the lighthouse's fame brought several experiments to improve how lighthouses help navigation.
- Light range
- 40 km
- Light signal
- 3 flashes every 12 seconds
- Levels
- 8
- Fresnel lens test
- 1823
Keepers and visitors
In this photo, a stony path leads across the water to the lighthouse door.
The sky is blue with thin clouds.
This photo was taken on 6 October 2022. It shows the tall white tower, its carved lower floors and its round stone base, with a path across the rocks leading to a door at the bottom.
Cordouan is the last lighthouse on the coasts of France where keepers still live all year. They work in pairs for a week or two at a time, and a boat brings the next pair on Fridays, at times set by the tide.
The photograph (Rémih, own work, 6 October 2022) looks along a stone path over the rocky plateau to the round base and the door at its foot, with the tower rising above under thin clouds.
The official site calls Cordouan the last lighthouse on the French coast that is still inhabited all year. Its keepers, in pairs, stay for a week or a fortnight; they look after the building, guard it day and night, welcome visitors in season and help monitor the plateau's environment. The SMIDDEST runs paid visits, and the lighthouse opens, at the earliest, about two hours before low tide.
Amazing facts
-
People call Cordouan the 'king of lighthouses'!
Cordouan is sometimes called the 'lighthouse of kings' or the 'king of lighthouses'.
The site's managers note that Cordouan is sometimes called 'phare des rois' (lighthouse of kings) or 'roi des phares' (king of lighthouses).
-
A special lens used in lighthouses all over the world was tested here!
In 1823 Augustin Fresnel tested his new stepped lens at Cordouan. Most lighthouses in the world use a Fresnel lens today.
Cordouan became a testing ground for French engineers; in 1823 Augustin Fresnel tried out a prototype stepped lens there, the type now fitted in most lighthouses in the world.
-
Lighthouse keepers still live at Cordouan!
Cordouan is the last lighthouse on the coasts of France where keepers still live all year round.
The official site calls Cordouan the last lighthouse on the French coast still inhabited all year, an unbroken line of generations of keepers.
Words to know
- lighthouse
- a tower with a bright light that guides ships
- estuary
- the wide mouth of a river, where it meets the sea
- lantern
- the glass room at the top of a lighthouse that holds the light
- lens
- a curved piece of glass that bends light
- keeper
- a person who looks after a lighthouse
- limestone
- a pale rock often used for building
Discovery challenge
-
Which country is Cordouan Lighthouse in?
In which country does Cordouan Lighthouse stand?
Cordouan Lighthouse guards the mouth of the Gironde estuary in which country?
- France
- Italy
- Norway
Show the answer
France
France!
France.
France, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
-
Where does the lighthouse stand?
What does Cordouan Lighthouse stand on?
UNESCO says the lighthouse rises from what kind of site?
- Rocks in the sea
- A mountain top
- A city square
Show the answer
Rocks in the sea
On rocks in the sea!
A rocky plateau in the sea.
A shallow rocky plateau in the Atlantic Ocean.
-
How many times does the light flash every 12 seconds?
How many flashes does Cordouan's light make every 12 seconds?
What is the rhythm of Cordouan's light, per 12 seconds?
- 3
- 1
- 10
Show the answer
3
Three times!
Three flashes.
Three flashes in 12 seconds.
-
Who tested a new lens at Cordouan?
Which scientist tested a new lens at Cordouan in 1823?
Whose stepped lens, now used in most lighthouses, was tested at Cordouan in 1823?
- Augustin Fresnel
- Louis de Foix
- Joseph Teulère
Show the answer
Augustin Fresnel
Augustin Fresnel!
Augustin Fresnel.
Augustin Fresnel's.
-
When did Cordouan join the World Heritage List?
In which year did UNESCO add Cordouan Lighthouse to the World Heritage List?
In which year was Cordouan inscribed, under criteria (i) and (iv)?
- 2021
- 1611
- 1862
Show the answer
2021
In 2021!
In 2021.
2021.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain what a lighthouse does and why ships need one.
- Describe how a building can be changed and still keep its style.
- Explain how a lens can make a light reach farther.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think lighthouses flash in a pattern?
- What would it be like to live in a lighthouse in the sea?
- Why might people want a lighthouse to be beautiful as well as useful?
Try at home or in class
- Shine a flashlight through a magnifying glass onto a wall and see how the lens changes the beam.
- Find Bordeaux and the Gironde estuary on a map of France.
Key vocabulary: lighthouse, estuary, lantern, lens, keeper, limestone
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Cordouan Lighthouse , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- 400 ans d'Histoire , Le phare de Cordouan (SMIDDEST)
- Un phare unique , Le phare de Cordouan (SMIDDEST)
- La vie au phare , Le phare de Cordouan (SMIDDEST)
- Accès au phare , Le phare de Cordouan (SMIDDEST)
- File:Phare de Cordouan 32.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.