Phare de Kéréon

The Phare de Kéréon remains an active aid to navigation in the Iroise Sea off the coast of Brittany. It was fully automated in 2004, making it one of the last lighthouses in French waters to lose its resident keepers.

The Phare de Kéréon stands on a treacherous rock known as Men Tensel in the Iroise Sea, off the western coast of Brittany in northwestern France. The surrounding waters are notoriously dangerous, with powerful currents and frequent severe storms making construction and maintenance extraordinarily difficult.

Construction of the Phare de Kéréon began in 1907 and was completed around 1916, placing it among the last of the great open-sea rock lighthouses built off the French coast. The lighthouse was named after Charles-Marie Le Dall de Kéréon, who bequeathed funds for its construction.

The Phare de Kéréon is not accessible to the public due to its isolated location on a rock in the middle of the Iroise Sea. It can be viewed from boat tours that depart from ports along the western Brittany coast, such as Camaret-sur-Mer, weather permitting.