Île d'Yeu lighthouse, Lighthouse in L'Île-d'Yeu, France
The Île d'Yeu lighthouse is a white concrete tower with a square, tapering shaft rising from a wider base on the butte de la Petite Foule. Six small circular openings are stacked down its front face, and two thin metal brackets project from one edge. It stands on a stepped white platform above a grey stone pedestal carved with "ILE D'YEU", and its red domed lantern room is ringed by a white gallery with railings.
The original structure from 1830 was destroyed by German forces during World War II. The current tower was built in 1950 by architect Maurice Durand and has served as a navigation aid for ships since then.
The lighthouse is also called Grand Phare or La Petite Foule, and its lantern is black, not green. It is one of two lighthouses on the island designed by Maurice Durand, the other being the Pointe des Corbeaux light, built the same year; from the tower he also remotely monitors that second light.
The lighthouse stands on the butte de la Petite Foule in the north-west of the island, just above the airport, not near the harbour. It is closed to the public during the 2025 lantern upgrade, with reopening planned for April 2026; check before setting out. The station is surrounded by four keeper's houses and outbuildings.
The current tower is the third on the site; its predecessor, a masonry tower of 1830, was destroyed by retreating German troops on 25 August 1944. The present lighthouse was first lit on 1 May 1950 and automated in 1980. It also remotely monitors the Pointe des Corbeaux lighthouse.
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