The Lighthouses of Southern France

The lighthouse marks the southernmost promontory of mainland France, about 600 m north of the Spanish border. Located on the cape, about 1.5 km east of the Cerbère waterfront; accessible by the twisting N114 coastal highway.

Photo courtesy Alain Guyomard [phares]

Located at the end of the jetty on the north side of the harbor entrance at Collioure, a small fishing port about 3 km northwest of Port-Vendres.

Photo courtesy xwa [Flickr]
(digitally brightened for this presentation)

Located on the south jetty at the harbor entrance in Port-la-Nouvelle.

Photo courtesy bonnafejp [Flickr]

Located atop a bluff at the small boat harbor of Bassin des Exals, about halfway between the beach towns of Narbonne-Plage and St.-Pierre-sur-Mer.

Photo courtesy Thierry Veine [phare]

It marks the entrance from the sound into the Canal du Midi. Built in the late 1600s, the Canal du Midi provided (and still provides) a water connection between the Mediterranean and the Garonne, which flows into the Atlantic below Bordeaux. Located at the canal entrance, about 1.5 km south of Marseillan.

Photo courtesy Jan Hugo Vandenplas [Flickr]

Located on the slope of Mont Saint Clair, to the west of the harbor entrance and just below the sailors' cemetery.

Photo courtesy Barry [Flickr]

This lighthouse was replaced in 1869 by the Phare de l'Espiguette, but the old tower has been carefully preserved. Located on the west side of the canal entrance in Grau-du-Roi.

Photo courtesy frantonton [Webshots]

The Pointe de l'Espiguette is a broad, sandy barrier, the southwestern extension of the Camargue. Sediment from the Rhône is accumulating here; the lighthouse was built 150 m from the sea but now it is a full kilometer from the surf. Located at the end of the Route de l'Espiguette about 6 km southeast of Grau-du-Roi.

Photo courtesy lacrymale [Flickr]

This lighthouse stands on a sweeping curve of the narrow barrier island at the southern end of the Camargue; the area is quite remote and not easy to reach. Located about 16 km southeast of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

Photo courtesy Robert Carceller [phares]

The Canal de Saint-Louis is a short channel connecting the Grande Rhône, the principal branch of the river, to the Golfe de Fos to the east. Located on the waterfront of St.-Louis-du-Rhône, the town closest to the mouth of the Grande Rhône, on the east side of the Camargue.

Photo courtesy Robert Carceller [phares]

The lighthouse guides ships into the Golfe de Fos, a sheltered bay on the east side of the Camargue about 30 km west of Marseille. Located adjacent to the yacht harbor of Fos-sur-Mer.

Photo courtesy Robert Carceller [phares]

Located on the south side of the entrance to Port-de-Bouc and the Chenal de Caronte, the channel leading to the large Étang (sound) de Berre.

Photo courtesy Philippe Fabre [Flickr]

Located on the west jetty at Sausset-les-Pins, a small boat harbor about 25 km  west of Marseille.

Photo courtesy Thomas Lamotte [Flickr]

This lighthouse, a familiar landmark of the waterfront, stands at the south entrance to the bassins on the Dique Sainte-Marie; the entrance is called the Passe de la Joliette and it leads to the southernmost bassin, the Bassin de la Grande Joliette.

Photo courtesy Julien Rodriguez [phare]

The château was made famous through the Alexandre Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. Tours of the island are available. Located at the eastern tip of the island, marking the entry to Marseille from the south, about 2.5 km southwest of the Pointe de la Désirade.

Photo courtesy Gabriele de Benedittis [Flickr]

Located at the end of the mole sheltering the harbor of Cassis, about 20 km east of Marseille.

Photo courtesy Alex GVA [Flickr]

Located on the mole on the north side of the old harbor at La Ciotat, about 10 km  southeast of Cassis.

Photo courtesy Marie-Christine Toscano [phares]

The lighthouse is a popular attraction because of its spectacular view of the Mediterranean and the Îles d'Hyères; it is accessible by a hike of about 2.5 km one way from the village of Porquerolles, which can be reached by ferry from Giens. Located at the southernmost point of the Île de Porquerolles.

Photo courtesy Alain Guyomard [phares]

Dedicated lighthouse fans can reach the light by a hike of about two hours each way on the spectacular coastal trail from La Favière. The lighthouse is actually located on Cap Blanc, the more southwesterly of the two forks of Cap Bénat.

Photo courtesy Alain Guyomard [phares]

Located about 1.5 km off the point of the Cap de St.-Tropez. There is a distant view from the end of the Chemin de la Moutte about 6 km east of St.-Tropez.

Photo courtesy funkyman [Flickr]

Located at the end of the south jetty at Saint-Raphaël.

Photo courtesy Brian Jacobson [Flickr]

This photo shows the new light (below) in the foreground, the old light in the background.

Photo courtesy Happy A [Flickr]

Located on a rock in the center of the entrance to Golfe Juan about 2.5 km south of the harbor. Accessible only by boat; there are distant views from shore everywhere in Golfe Juan.

Photo courtesy Fabien [Flickr]

Located off the Avenue de la Gabelle, high on the hillside in Vallauris, overlooking the Golfe Juan about 3 km east northeast of the Cannes waterfront.

Photo courtesy Adrien Mortini [Structurae] 
All rights reserved.

This lighthouse is located at the southwestern point of the Cap d'Antibes peninsula, marking the east side of the entrance to Golfe Juan (in a restricted residential area).

Photo courtesy Francis Marc [phares]

Located on the end of the breakwater mole (the Quai Napoléon III) on the south side of the harbor of Menton, about 2 km west of the Italian border.

Photo courtesy Doug Boit [Flickr]

Located at the end of a pier at Évian-les-Bains, a popular resort town about 4 km east of Amphion-les-Bains.

Photo courtesy "fleeting moment" [Flickr]