Rethymno lighthouse, Lighthouse in Rethymno, Crete, Greece

The Rethymno lighthouse is a cylindrical stone tower about 9 metres tall at the tip of the old Venetian harbour pier in Rethymno, Crete. Its walls are built of fitted local stone blocks weathered by the sea wind, and small rectangular windows open along the shaft.

The lighthouse was built in the 1830s during the period when Egypt held control of Crete, most likely replacing an older Venetian structure that had previously stood on the same spot. In 1864, a French lighthouse company took over its management and continued to operate it for many years.

The tower's tapering profile, with a balcony near the top, is often compared to a minaret, a resemblance linked to the Egyptian period of the 1830s rather than to Venetian rule. It stands at the end of the old Venetian harbour pier, where fishing boats and cafés line the waterfront and visitors pass it on evening walks.

The tower is freely accessible from the outside and sits directly on the harbor walkway, making it easy to include on a stroll along the waterfront. The inside is closed for safety reasons, but the exterior and the position at the tip of the pier allow photos from several angles.

The tower's light sat about 49 metres above sea level, far higher than the roughly 9-metre structure suggests, because the lantern was mounted on a tall mast or frame rather than the stone drum alone. Look for the small rectangular windows in the masonry, cut to light the interior stair.