Built from 1584 to 1611, it is the oldest lighthouse in France still in operation.
It is called the "Versailles of the sea" or the lighthouse of the kings.
It was the first lighthouse to be classified as a historical monument, in 1962, the same year as Notre-Dame de Paris.
Since 1 January 2010, management of the site, which is owned by the State, has been carried out by the Syndicat mixte pour le développement durable de l'estuaire de la Gironde, which brings together the General Councils of the Gironde and Charente-Maritime departments, the Regional Councils of Aquitaine and Poitou-Charentes and the Bordeaux Urban Community, in close collaboration with the Association pour la Sauvegarde du phare de Cordouan (Association for the Safeguarding of the Cordouan Lighthouse).
On the 1st floor is the King's apartment, on the 2nd floor the chapel, on the 3rd floor the Girondins room, the 4th and 5th floors lead to the top.
The Cordouan lighthouse, remarkably restored a few years ago, is open to visitors in summer.
Some amazing features :
- Height: 68 meters
- Range of the lantern: approx. 40 km
- 311 steps to reach the lantern
- Truncated conical tower made of masonry and ashlars
- Stone belt, circular bastion, 41 metres in diameter and 8.30 metres high, which protects the building from the ocean.
- A 260-metre long gravel road to bring food and materials, accessible at low tide from a small landing stage.
In January 2017, it is recognized as a "masterpiece of human creative genius", one of the criteria to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The answer is coming soon...
Gironde Estuary
3312 Le Verdon-sur-Mer
Phone : 05 46 05 30 93
www.pharedecordouan.com/
https://www.phare-de-cordouan.fr/
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