Phare de Cordouan

Built on a rocky island at the mouth of the Gironde estuary in an inhospitable, hard-to-reach environment, it’s still active and has witnessed 400 years of history. Built out the wish of France’s kings, Cordouan was ambitiously erected as a flaunt heir of the mythical lighthouse of Alexandria. Like no other, it was designed from its very beginning as a monument and a building for maritime signalling. It is different from other lighthouses because of its outstanding architecture. Over the centuries, it has also been a laboratory for engineers and a place of all technological innovations. In 1823, Augustin Fresnel tries out a scaled lens prototype, called “Fresnel lens,” a system that is used nowadays in most lighthouses around the world. A key and an essential figure, keepers look after the lighthouse every single day. The last lighthouse of France still inhabited all year round, Cordouan is a unique example of uninterrupted succession of generations of keepers.