Le Phare de Calais
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With the belfry, the lighthouse offers a panoramic view of Calais, especially the port. In service since 1848, it is a real balcony over the port district, the Courgain maritime. For families, the Calais lighthouse also has an educational room on the history of maritime signaling.
The Calais lighthouse offers the opportunity to enjoy a complete panorama of the port of Calais and the Strait of Dover, which has some of the busiest traffic in the world. Climbing the Calais lighthouse also gives you a view of the city and its hinterland.
The Calais lighthouse has been in service since 1848. It was at the beginning of the 1848th century that the need arose to build a lighthouse in Calais. Maritime traffic was developing in the strait, as were accidents. A lantern was installed at the top of the watchtower in XNUMX before the construction of the current lighthouse.
The Calais lighthouse dominates the Courgain maritime, the historic district of the port of Calais. It is built on a hillock…a vestige of a bastion of the old fortifications of the city. This reinforces its dominant aspect when photographed from Fort Risban or the Bassin du Paradis.
In addition to the 360° view from its summit, the Calais lighthouse offers a discovery room for families in particular. It presents the history of lighthouses, beacons and maritime signaling.
There is no longer a lighthouse keeper, it runs on electricity and can be controlled remotely. Its tower is 51 meters high and the lamp is about 60 meters higher than sea level. Each lighthouse has its own light signature. The one in Calais emits 4 grouped flashes of 0,1 seconds every 2,4 seconds then a black flash of 7.4 seconds.
To note that : To reach the top and discover the panorama, you have to climb 271 steps in a spiral staircase. Long, but largely doable by climbing at your own pace. You can take breaks by stopping to admire the landscape regularly visible through narrow windows. More traveler souls will think of the sailors from all over the world who pass each year off the coast of Calais and who see this lighthouse day or night!
