Phare de Socoa, Maritime navigation tower in Ciboure, France

The Socoa lighthouse is a maison-phare in Ciboure: a white two-storey building with a grey slate roof, a central dormer and two grey metal chimneys, its windows fitted with dark brown shutters. The square white tower rises on the right side of the building, topped by a black glazed lantern room with a gallery railing and a small finial. A red circular "SNSM" sign is mounted on the wooden gate, and a low white wall with a wire fence runs in front. The complex stands above a steep, grey, striated cliff over the Bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

The lighthouse was built in 1844 and first lit on 15 March 1845. It was electrified in 1970. In 1993 the French government listed it as a historic monument.

The lighthouse is a maison-phare, a keeper's house with the light attached, a form found along this coast. Its name comes from the Socoa district of Ciboure, and the Basque name is Zokoako itsasargia. The building carries a red "SNSM" sign, marking the French sea rescue association's presence at Socoa.

The lighthouse stands near the Socoa semaphore, a French Navy facility completed in 1936, so parts of the immediate surroundings are not open to the public. The site overlooks the Bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Basque Corniche; the tower itself is not open for climbing. The building is recognizable by the red "SNSM" sign on its wooden gate.

The lighthouse was listed as a historic monument by the French government in 1993, and its light was electrified in 1970. The white building beside the tower carries a red "SNSM" sign on its wooden gate, marking the local sea rescue station.