Head to the Cordouan lighthouse, at the mouth of the Gironde estuary, with this report from the magazine “1:15 p.m. on Sunday” (Twitter, #1:15 p.m.), signed Vincent Nguyen, Matthieu Martin and Anthony Santoro. He has watched over the ships sailing in these waters for four centuries.
It is the oldest active lighthouse in France and the last to be permanently inhabited by two keepers. Today it retains its utilitarian function by serving as a landmark for sailors.
The “Versailles of the sea”
These two lovers of the “Versailles of the sea”, built from 1584 to 1611, maintain it on a daily basis and watch over its fire which carries forty kilometers out to sea. Five generators supply two sets of ten batteries which serve all the electrical installations .
Equipment that ensures the unchanging rhythm of its three bursts in twelve seconds. The two wardens take the curious on a tour of this little-known jewel of the world heritage of maritime architecture.
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