Ancien phare de Penmarc'h, Historical lighthouse in Penmarch, France

The old lighthouse of Penmarc'h stands at the Pointe de Penmarc'h in the Saint-Pierre district: a two-storey square stone base topped by a cylindrical granite shaft, built of Pont-l'Abbé leucogranite with Trégunc granite for the upper part. A stone balustrade, installed in 1878 in place of an iron one, rings the top; the lantern that once crowned it was removed around 1897. The south face of the shaft is painted white.

Built between 1831 and 1835 to plans by chief engineer Jean-Sébastien Goury, the lighthouse was lit on 20 November 1835 as a first-order landfall light with 16 Fresnel lenses eclipsing every 30 seconds. It burned colza oil, then mineral oil from 1875, until the Eckmühl lighthouse replaced it on 17 October 1897. The German army installed a radar station there during the Second World War and failed to blow up the top on departure.

The lighthouse stands in the Saint-Pierre district at the tip of Penmarc'h, in the Pays Bigouden. Since 1995 its square base has housed the Centre de découverte maritime, with a permanent exhibition on the history of lighthouses and beacons and temporary shows on the sea and Bigouden history. The tower's south face was painted white so it could serve as a landmark by day.

The tower is not open for climbing: its lantern was removed around 1897 and the summit now carries a stone balustrade set in 1878. The former lighthouse houses the Centre de découverte maritime in its two-level square base since 1995, with a permanent exhibition on the ground floor and temporary shows on the first floor. The south face of the shaft is painted white as a daymark.

The tower's lantern was removed around 1897, and its south face was later painted white so the shaft could serve as a daymark. A metal belt was fitted at the top to stop a crack from widening, and a foghorn installed in 1976 stood on the summit until it was dismantled in 2013.