Paon lighthouse, Maritime navigation lighthouse on Île de Bréhat, Côtes-d'Armor, France
Paon lighthouse is a stone structure located on Île de Bréhat in Brittany, standing about 13 meters tall. The building offers views across the coastline and waters surrounding the island.
A first lighthouse project was authorised in 1855 and the tower was completed in 1860 as a square turret with a keeper's dwelling. German troops dynamited it in 1944, and it was rebuilt to the same design between 1948 and 1952 in pink granite from Bréhat and Ploumanac'h. The light was electrified in 1942 and the rebuilt tower is automated.
The tower is painted with the word "PAON" near its top, a name taken from the rock it stands on, roche du Paon. Marie-Perrine Durand, the first woman lighthouse keeper in France, was assigned here for 39 years until her death in 1933. Together with the Rosédo lighthouse, it marks the passage past the Horaine reef.
The lighthouse is not regularly open to the public and can only be visited through organized guided tours. Check ahead for available visiting opportunities to plan your trip appropriately.
The tower stands on the Rocher du Paon about 1,600 metres from the Rosédo lighthouse; together the two mark the passage past the Horaine reef. The word "PAON" is painted in dark capitals high on the white tower, just below the gallery railing.
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