{"id":7356,"date":"2021-09-06T10:34:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T08:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apparts-bleu-soleil-rochefort.fr\/que-faire-en-charente-maritime\/visiter-les-phares-de-charente-maritime\/le-phare-de-chassiron-2\/"},"modified":"2024-07-22T15:33:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T13:33:53","slug":"le-phare-de-cordouan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apparts-bleu-soleil-rochefort.fr\/en\/visiter-les-phares-de-charente-maritime\/le-phare-de-cordouan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cordouan Lighthouse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Discover the most beautiful lighthouses in Charente-Maritime<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Cordouan Lighthouse<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The Cordouan lighthouse<\/strong>\u00a0is located in the middle of the entrance to the Gironde estuary and faces Saint-Palais sur Mer and its most beautiful beaches. The oldest lighthouse in France<\/strong> stands alone and magnificent in the middle of the sea and remains today one of the few lighthouses still inhabited.<\/p>

Identity sheet :\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Address : Phare de Cordouan \u2013 33123 Le Verdon-sur-Mer<\/p>

Height: 67.5 m<\/p>

Number of steps: 301<\/p>

Range: approximately 40 kilometres<\/p>

Construction: As early as the 14th century, a fire tower was built on the island of Cordouan<\/b>, puis au 16\u00e8 si\u00e8cle un v\u00e9ritable phare est \u00e9difi\u00e9, avec une hauteur initiale de 37 m, v\u00e9ritable performance pour l’\u00e9poque, d’\u00e9difier pareil ouvrage en pleine mer. C’est dans les ann\u00e9es 1780 que le Phare de Cordouan prend sa forme d’aujourd’hui gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l’architecte Joseph Teul\u00e8re.<\/p>

Commissioning: evolution over the centuries, but \"efficient\" evolution thanks to the Fresnel lens in 1823.<\/p>

The Cordouan lighthouse\u00a0<\/strong>The Gironde Estuary's harbour, situated in the middle of the sea, still has all its functions as a guide for the many ships sailing on the Gironde Estuary. Discover this giant of the seas, but it won't be easy. Indeed, you will start this visit with a sea cruise, departing from Royan<\/b>, to dock on the island of Cordouan and begin the visit proper.<\/p>

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Discover the emblematic Cordouan lighthouse<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Cordouan Lighthouse is not only a historic building, but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t1<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\tCordouan, an island, a lighthouse, a history<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites are a collection of natural or man-made places of great interest to culture and humanity.\u00a0<\/p>

The Cordouan lighthouse<\/b> n’est pas comme tous les phares que nous avons \u00e9voqu\u00e9s jusqu’alors. Il prend place au milieu de l’estuaire de la Gironde et retrace \u00e0 lui seul l’histoire de la cr\u00e9ation architectural de l’homme. En effet ce chef d’oeuvre d’architecture est non seulement magnifique mais a su relever les d\u00e9fis pour pouvoir s’\u00e9riger en pareil lieu.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t2<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\tA visit to the Cordouan lighthouse, an unforgettable experience<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Incredible memories have to be earned, they have to be provoked... The ones you will get from this visit to the Cordouan Lighthouse<\/b> are unforgettable because they are the result of the short journey necessary to reach the lighthouse that its creators wanted to build on the open sea off Royan about 7 km from any coast.<\/b><\/p>

You will embark at the port of Royan (or Le Verdon sur Mer) for a superb cruise alongside other adventurers. On board this boat you will leave for this crossing of a few kilometres which will bring you to the lighthouse in approximately 3\/4 of an hour.<\/p>

So take advantage of this moment in the open air, to relax, smell the sea spray and the iodine air and admire this magnificent landscape on the coast but also this silhouette which is slowly but surely approaching. The shape of the Cordouan lighthouse is unmistakable<\/b> and you will have plenty of time to observe it during this approach.<\/p>

You will then be disembarked quite close to the Cordouan Lighthouse<\/b>, which is only accessible at low tide in order to be able to walk on the shallows, made up of sandbanks which are even visible from the coast at low tide (on the Grande C\u00f4te beach in Saint Palais sur Mer for example).<\/p>

Bring a swimming costume or at least shorts and old trainers or flip-flops as you will finish your journey to the lighthouse, walking on the sandbank and depending on the movements of the sandbank during the previous tides, you may get water above your knees.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t3<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Cordouan lighthouse, 4 reasons to visit this unmissable monument of the seas<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The more you approach the magnificent Cordouan Lighthouse,<\/strong>\u00a0the more you will be amazed. So take the time to stay at the foot for a few minutes to admire its fantastic architecture up close.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Discover the foreshore at the foot of the Cordouan lighthouse and its incredible ecosystem<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If the weather is good, we advise you to take your time on the foreshore at the foot of the Cordouan lighthouse<\/b>. Indeed, many plant species such as a multitude of varieties of algae thrive here, but also more than 200 animal species. You will see curiously shaped algae, crabs by the hundreds, but also numerous sponges, shellfish and crustaceans.<\/p>

You see it, a visit to the Cordouan lighthouse<\/b> starts in the best conditions for lovers of natural spaces and photo enthusiasts. You will have a great time and will keep a lasting memory of this moment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Meet the keepers of the Cordouan lighthouse, an authentic moment<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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You will continue your progression towards the lighthouse by taking the dike and will be welcomed by the owner of the place, the lighthouse keeper. He will be very happy to show you this place full of history which is his home for a few months of the year.<\/p>

The Cordouan lighthouse<\/b> is classified as a historical monument since 1862 and was recently listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is therefore unnecessary to specify that 4 guards are needed to keep an eye on it all year round.<\/p>

\u00a0Generally very friendly and communicative, don't hesitate to ask them any questions you may have, they are inexhaustible on the subject. You will learn a lot and in the best way: by communicating with passionate people living here, at the end of the world, in this quietness (not always depending on the weather) and this total disorientation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Cordouan Lighthouse, a breathtaking construction with incredible architecture<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Cordouan Lighthouse<\/b> is the oldest French lighthouse still in activity and the last one where keepers still live all year round.<\/p>\n

When you arrive at the foot of the lighthouse, you will notice that the first three floors are cylindrical. These are the preserved remains of the old lighthouse, built at the end of the 1500s; a construction that lasted for more than 27 years from 1584 and was directed by Louis de Foix.<\/p>\n

The upper floors are conical and more recent. Indeed, the span was deemed insufficient at the time and the tower had to be raised by more than 30 metres. The ground floor and the two upper floors, in the Renaissance style, are thus preserved and surmounted by a construction in the Louis XVI style.<\/p>\n

The Cordouan Lighthouse consists of the following elements:<\/p>\n