Name and Location

The Cap Gris-Nez Lighthouse, also known as Phare du Cap Gris-Nez, is located at the tip of the Cap Gris-Nez promontory on the Côte d’Opale in northern France. The official address is 4 Route du Cap, 62179 Audinghen, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France, France, with coordinates 50.8681935 N, 1.582668 E.

2. Construction and History

The original lighthouse was commissioned in 1838, followed by a second tower erected in 1848 to improve the range. Both earlier towers were destroyed during World War II in 1944 by retreating German forces. The current concrete tower was constructed between 1955 and 1958, with the light first exhibited in July 1958.

3. Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse has a functional mid-20th-century design, built using reinforced concrete painted white with a red lantern roof. It features a cylindrical tower with a gallery (balcony) and lantern, standing 31 meters tall above its base, with a focal height of 96 meters above mean sea level.

4. Light and Navigation

The lighthouse is an aid to navigation, emitting two white flashes every 10 seconds (Fl (2) W 10s). The nominal range is approximately 23 nautical miles. The light has been fully automated since the late 20th century and is monitored remotely by the French Lighthouse Service.

5. Accessibility and Visiting

The lighthouse is open seasonally from April to October, typically on weekends and French school holidays. Admission fees (2024) are approximately €5 for adults, with reduced rates for children. Visitors can access the site by car via the D940 coastal road or on foot via the GR120 hiking trail.

6. Notable Views and Landscape

From the gallery platform, visitors enjoy sweeping views across the English Channel, including the white cliffs of Dover visible on clear days. The surrounding landscape features WWII observation bunkers and ruins at the foot of the tower, with the chalky crest of Cap Blanc-Nez lying 3 kilometers to the northeast.

7. Anecdotes and Folklore

During World War II, the two earlier lighthouses were used as range-finding stations before being demolished in 1944. Legend holds that Napoleon Bonaparte watched the English coast from this headland while planning his invasion of Britain – although no invasion flotilla ever assembled here.

8. Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is managed by the Direction Interrégionale des Affaires Maritimes de la Manche et de la Mer du Nord (DIAMM MN) – Service des Phares et Balises. Further reading includes Monograph "Les Phares du Pas-de-Calais" (2010) and Philippe Arnaud's "Phare et Falaise" in Revue Française de la Navigation (2015).

9. Further Information

For further information, visit the English Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_Gris-Nez_Lighthouse, Wikidata at https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3378560, or the Wikimedia Commons gallery at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Phare_du_Cap_Gris-Nez.