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Phare des Baleines

© Jean-Luc Ichard/Getty Images/iStock

Green field and Phare des Baleines lighthouse in Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, France

For an overview of the island, scale Phare des Baleines, the island's scarlet-tipped, 57m-tall lighthouse on its northwestern tip. Tackling the dizzying, 257-step spiral staircase inside the 19th-century lighthouse (1854) rewards with a sweeping coastal panorama. Learn its history in the neighboring Musée de la Mer and visit the lighthouse's shorter 17th-century predecessor, a 29m-tall tower now known as the Vieille Tour (old tower).

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