Login
login / signup
Lighthouse
Beacons, most often situated on a coast, help watercraft avoid disaster while also guiding them to a friendly port. They come in all shapes and sizes, and each has a story to tell. Learn about these iconic sentinels of the sea (and lakes).
Nova Scotia, Canada
Cape George Lighthouse
Over 107 years, six different lightkeepers manned this lighthouse before it was rebuilt and automated in 1968.
Pouto Peninsula, New Zealand
Pouto Lighthouse
The Pouto Lighthouse is New Zealand's oldest wooden lighthouse made of kauri timber.
Marathon, Florida, United States
Faro Blanco Lighthouse
This lighthouse in the Florida Keys keeps has served as a residence and office as well as an unofficial private navigator for boats.
County Down, Northern Ireland, Ireland
Donaghadee Lighthouse
Before the Donaghadee Lighthouse was built, young Northern Irish couples looking to marry legally in Scotland would depart from the Donaghadee Harbor.
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
New Canal Light
The New Canal Light in New Orleans has been operated by a long series of lightkeepers, and notably, many were women.
Lake Vanern, Sweden
Hammarö Skage
Of the nearly thirty lighthouses on Lake Vänern, this lighthouse employs a residential design with a lake house-style structure as its base.
Porto, Portugal
Farol de Felgueiras
Situated at the Mouth of the Douro River, this lighthouse welcomes ships to the ancient Portuguese city of Porto.
Quadra Island, Canada
Cape Mudge Lighthouse
This Canadan Lighthouse has been standing on Quadra Island since the days of the Klondike goldrush.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Brockton Point Lighthouse
For many years keepers of the Brockton Point Lighthouse in Vancouver were charged with firing the "9 O'clock Gun”, a muzzle-loaded naval cannon fired at 6pm to signal the close of fishing.
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, United States
Faro Los Morillos
The Los Morillos Light in Puerto Rico is surrounded by salt-rich coves, where salt mining has been an important industry for centuries.
South Bruny, Tasmania, Australia
Cape Bruny Lighthouse
The second oldest extant lighthouse tower in Australia has been continuously manned for 158 years.
Sign up for our Newsletter
The AWA Bulletin: A quick & curated bi-weekly break
San Diego, California, United States
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
This San Diego lighthouse is said to be named for a young woman who survived a shipwreck only to be murdered by a slighted suitor, who met his own demise soon after, at the lighthouse.
Marsden, United Kingdom
Souter Lighthouse
Souter Lighthouse located in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England was the first lighthouse in the world to be built specifically to use alternating electric current.
Lima, Peru
La Marina Lighthouse
Urban legend attributes the design of this famous Peruvian lighthouse in the Miraflores district of Lima, to Gustave Eiffel. You may know him from his famous tower in Paris.
Cape Otoway, Victoria, Australia
Cape Otway Lightstation
This lighthouse in Victoria, Australia has witnessed many shipwrecks and sea battles. Today, visitors can stay at the keeper's cottages, onsite.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Nordurgardi Lighthouse
This tiny yellow lighthouse in Reykjavyk, Iceland is only 13 feet tall!
Long Beach Island, New Jersey, United States
Barnegat Light
"Old Barney" on Long Beach Island, NJ is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its beacon changed several times since the mid-19th century.
Gdansk, Poland
Nowy Port
This lighthouse in Gdansk, Poland stood witness to the first battle of World War II.
Buxton, North Carolina, United States
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
An engineering feat occurred in 1999 when the massive concrete Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina was moved almost a mile inland to safer ground.
AWA visted here
Tarragona, Spain
Far del Fangar
The Fangar Lighthouse in Tarragona, Spain replaced the original, which was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War.
Finistere, France
Lighthouse Guilvinec
Called "The Fire of the North Jetty", this almost century-old lighthouse in Guilvinec, France is known as one of "The Three Lights of Guilvinec."
York, Maine, United States
Cape Neddick Light
One of the most photographed lighthouses in the world, steeped in maritime history.
AWA visted here
Presented with
Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia
Griffith’s Island Lighthouse
Griffith's Island off the coast of Victoria, Australia, is home to this 19th century lighthouse, a popular visiting site for Aboriginals to Australian whalers.
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Coney Island Boardwalk
New York City's Coney Island Lighthouse stands watch over its famous boardwalk, now a city landmark.
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
Svörtuloft Lighthouse
The name is a fitting tribute to a cliff born of the meeting between heat and ice — darkness and a lighthouse.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Lake Hefner Lighthouse
This lighthouse is a rare sight; it sits on the edge of a manmade lake in Oklahoma City, a landlocked state.
Hamburg, Germany
Bunthauser Spitze Light
This dreamy lighthouse monitors the flow rate of the branches of the Elbe river in Hamburg, Germany.
Dublin, Ireland
Baily Lighthouse
This Irish lighthouse was the last of its kind - a manually operated light was in place until 1996, and the final light keeper left the post soon after.
Westkapelle, Netherlands
Noorderhoofd
Open to the public for climbing, this 19th century lighthouse still leads ships to harbor in the Netherlands.
Tadoussac Bay, Quebec, Canada
Haut-fond Prince Lighthouse
Nicknamed the "Spinning Top," this unique Canadian lighthouse warns of an undersea hazard.
Hvalnes, Iceland
Hvalnes Lighthouse
The striking Hvalnes Lighthouse in Iceland, is located on a sub-volcanic rock mountain, containing quartz and precious metals.
La Corbiere, Jersey, United Kingdom
La Corbiere Lighthouse
The name of La Corbiere Lighthouse in the UK, means ravens or crows, and was the world's first concrete lighthouse.
Capri, Italy
Punta Carena Lighthouse
Active since 1867, this lighthouse on a rocky cliff on the Island of Capri, has a rotating signal that emits white light flashes every 3 seconds across 25 nautical miles.
Suðurnesjabær, Iceland
Old Gardur Lighthouse
The Old Gardur Lighthouse in Iceland was built low enough to the ground to avoid mist but as a result is always in danger from high surf.