In the pantheon of French lighthouses (the PPF), the most famous in the world is not Eckmühl, Cordouan, Sanguinaires or La Vieille. It's certainly the one in the Normandy port of Ouistreham, and has been for almost 90 years.

Whether you live in New York, Sydney, Kyoto, Karlshamn, Oslo or Puerto Santa Cruz, or even in the middle of nowhere, there's a good chance that if you talk about France and the French lighthouse, the first name that comes to your interlocutor's mind will be... Ouistreham!!

It may not be the most astonishing of French lighthouses, it may not have taken the longest or been the most complex to build, and its architecture may ultimately blend in with that of its fellow lighthouses, but the Ouistreham lighthouse in Normandy is nonetheless a true World Star.

Built in 1905 (on the site of its predecessor), the 38m-high Ouistreham lighthouse is located in the heart of the Normandy town's harbour, alongside the canal lock linking the town of Caen to the English Channel. To reach its lantern, you have to climb 171 steps to discover a 360-degree view of the coastal town that saw the landing of the Kieffer Commando on 6 June 1944, the only French group to take part in the D-Day landings! A cylindrical granite tower, painted white and red on its main body, the Ouistreham Lighthouse can be seen at sea, on a clear day, from more than 16 nautical miles away.

But why on earth is the Ouistreham lighthouse so famous the world over?

It all goes back to 1931, when a 10m-long Fécamp-built cutter, the Ostrogoth, sank in Deauville.

Its owner was none other than the Belgian writer Simenon.

Faced with adversity, Simenon decided to have his yacht repaired at a shipyard in Ouistreham, and to live there for 3 months while the work was carried out.

During this forced stopover, Maigret's father would write 3 novels: Le Port des Brumes, set in the Port of Ouistreham, with its lighthouse, lock, harbourmaster's house and the Hotel de l'Univers, which has since been destroyed; La Guinguette à deux sous, and La Danseuse du Gai Moulin.

Simenon was not alone on this forced stopover, accompanied as he was by his wife, Tigy, his cook and mistress, Henriette, and his chauffeur, who joined him on the spot. At night, he slept aboard his sailboat; during the day, he wrote his novels in a house rented for the occasion, the Villa Le Phare!

During these three months, he immersed himself in the atmosphere of the port, and wrote a breathtaking Port des Brumes, published in 1932! 

The novel, which takes place over 4 days at the end of October in the early 1930s, is set mainly in Ouistreham, but also in Caen and Paris, with references to Norway. Boats and sailors feature prominently, as does the lighthouse, omnipresent along with the harbour lock. 

Port des Brumes (Port of Mists), the enigma of which we won't reveal to you, but which 90 years later is still relevant today, and which has made the port of Ouistreham and its lighthouse known the world over.

Ouistreham lighthouse owes its worldwide fame to a shipwreck.....

Quite a coincidence of history !