L'Armendèche lighthouse, Art Deco lighthouse in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France.
Description
L'Armendèche is a modern lighthouse in Les Sables-d'Olonne featuring a hexagonal concrete tower with a white exterior. The red-painted lantern room with its observation gallery sits atop the 39-meter structure and operates entirely by automation.
History
Built in 1968 by architect Maurice Durand, this tower was created to give local sailors better visibility as the shoreline changed with development. It gained recognition as a historical monument in 2012, honoring its role in French maritime building tradition.
Culture
The tower marks Les Sables-d'Olonne's role as an active fishing and sailing port, where this structure remains essential to daily maritime operations. Visitors can see how locals and passing ships depend on this beacon as a vital navigation point.
Practical
The beacon produces white flashes in a two-one pattern that can be seen up to 41 kilometers away on the open water. Since it operates automatically, visitors should check local rules before approaching and plan visits around tide and weather conditions.
Did you know?
This tower stands as the last major lighthouse built on French soil, marking the end of a long era of coastal beacon construction. Its light power reaches about 440,000 candela, making it exceptionally bright for a modern automated structure.
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French lighthouses line approximately 3,400 miles (5,500 km) of coast, from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea. These maritime structures, built between the 17th and 20th centuries, occupy strategic locations on rocky promontories, islands, and sometimes in open sea. Constructed from...
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