The Tourlitis Lighthouse in Greece appears to be balanced on a rock.
Lemonakis Antonis/Shutterstock
Lighthouses have been built in epic locations around the world, from volcanoes to sand dunes.
The Tower of Hercules in Spain is the oldest operating lighthouse in the world.
Some of these lighthouses, like Neist Point Lighthouse in Scotland, are accessible via footpaths.
While technological advancements in navigation aids, such as GPS and radar beacons, have rendered most lighthouses unnecessary, they remain as symbols of security and steadfastness along nations' shores.
Around the world, lighthouses were built on volcanoes, tiny islands, and cliff edges, while today, others appear precariously perched on crumbling rocks.
In the US, approximately 670 lighthouses remain, according to Guinness World Records, and the government is known to give them away for free. Each year, the US General Services Administration offers a handful of structures to the public under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. In 2023, a record number — 10 — were given away or sent to auction, including historic lighthouses in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Maine.
Others are open to visitors or can be admired from afar.
These photos show iconic lighthouses around the world, from India to Scotland.
The Tower of Hercules in Spain is the oldest operating lighthouse in the world. It dates back to the late 1st century AD.
The Tower of Hercules is in northwestern Spain.
Anibal Trejo/ Shutterstock
This ancient Roman lighthouse has gained recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It can be found towering over the entrance of La Coruña harbor in northwestern Spain.
Perched on Lake Constance in Germany, Lindau Lighthouse even has a clock.
Lindau Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in Germany.
Shutterstock/ manfredxy
Lindau Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in Germany. The tower was built in 1856.
Kermorvan Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the easternmost point of France.
The light from Kermorvan Lighthouse has a range of 22 miles.
PictureMike/Shutterstock
Kermorvan Lighthouse was built in 1849.
Diamond Head Lighthouse is located on the side of the famous Diamond Head crater in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Diamond Head Lighthouse is located on the side of a volcano.
emperorcosar/Shutterstock
The lighthouse was built in order to warn vessels to stay away from the reefs at Waikiki, per Hawaii Guide.
Fanad Lighthouse in Ireland was built in 1817 following a deadly ship wreckage five years earlier.
This lighthouse is located in Donegal, Ireland.
Jan Miko/ Shutterstock
Almost 100 years later, in 1917, the stunning lighthouse in County Donegal survived being struck by lightning.
Chania Lighthouse in Greece was built in the late 16th century.
This lighthouse was destroyed and rebuilt.
kavalenkava/ Shutterstock
The Egyptian style lighthouse was destroyed during the Turkish occupation and rebuilt between 1824 and 1832. It sits on its original base.
Neist Point Lighthouse, which can be found on the westerly tip of the Isle of Skye, is one of Scotland's most famous lighthouses.
Can you see the lighthouse?
Daniel Kay/Shutterstock
Built in 1900, it now uses an automated system and is unmanned. It can be reached via a footpath, which gives stunning views of the surrounding cliffs.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse is the oldest original lighthouse in Alaska.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse has an octagonal frame.
Richard Seeley/Shutterstock
It was built in 1905 and is the only surviving octagonal-frame lighthouse from those built at the time, according to its website.
Low Lighthouse, a small wooden lighthouse in England, is a popular photo-op thanks to its nine "legs."
The picturesque Low Lighthouse is on stilts.
ian woolcock/ Shutterstock
Low Lighthouse is the only active lighthouse in Burnham-on-Sea, England.
Bodie Island Lighthouse in North Carolina has a beam so bright it reaches 19 miles offshore.
Bodie Island Lighthouse has black and white stripes.
MarkVanDykePhotography/Shutterstock
Located in North Carolina's Outer Banks, the lighthouse measures 156 feet tall.
Bass Harbor Head Light in Maine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Bass Harbor Head Light is one of nearly 80 lighthouses in Maine.
Shutterstock/ Catuncia
Located in Acadia National Park, this lighthouse was built in 1858 and stands 56 feet high.
Kovalam Beach Lighthouse in India overlooks long stretches of sandy beaches.
Kovalam Beach Lighthouse is located in the Thiruvananthapuram district.
Pikoso.kz/ Shutterstock
Kovalam Beach Lighthouse is so pretty that the beach it sits on — Lighthouse Beach — was named after it. Visitors can climb 142 steps to the top to see expansive views of Poovar Island and the famous Beemapalli mosque.
Cape Byron Light is Australia's most easterly lighthouse.
Visitors can climb Cape Byron Light and look out over Byron Bay.
ian woolcock/ Shutterstock
The colonial style lighthouse, constructed in 1899, stands 74 feet tall.
A winding stone staircase leads up to the Tourlitis Lighthouse in Greece.
Tourlitis Lighthouse is actually a replica of the original.
Lemonakis Antonis/ Shutterstock
Perched on top of a stone spire, this lighthouse looks like something straight out of "The Little Mermaid." Destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt in the early 1990s, and is said to look just as magical as before.
Cape Reinga Lighthouse on New Zealand's North Island is a place of spiritual significance for Maori.
Cape Reinga has been automated since 1987.
Juergen_Wallstabe/Shutterstock
Cape Reinga is a popular tourist destination and a significant place for Māori, according to the New Zealand Department of Conversation: When a person dies, their spirit reaches the area, where an ancient pohutukawa tree is located. Spirits leap from the tree to start their journey to their ancestors in the spiritual homeland.
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse in Argentina is known for having penguins and walruses lazing nearby.
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse is on the southern tip of Argentina.
Sergio TB/Shutterstock
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse sits on the southern tip of Argentina.
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse is a prime attraction in Nova Scotia, Canada.
A rocky pathway leads to Peggy's Cove Lighthouse.
Adam Nettleto/ Shutterstock
This still-active lighthouse is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area.
Mouro Island Lighthouse in Spain sits on its own uninhabited island.
Mouro Island Lighthouse is in the Bay of Biscay.
alredosaz/ Shutterstock
The 19th-century lighthouse located on the north coast of Spain.
Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse in Denmark is surrounded by sand dunes.
This lighthouse is surrounded by sand dunes.
JakubD/ Shutterstock
However, when it was built in the 1900s, there were no sand dunes nearby, according to the Vendsyssel Historical Museum, and it was much further inland than it is now. Over the years, the sea encroached and wind blew so much sand on it that at times its light was barely visible.
Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon is said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the entire US.
Heceta Head Lighthouse's light reaches 21 miles.
Stas Moroz/Shutterstock
This lighthouse is the brightest light on the Oregon coast. It is even home to a charming bed and breakfast.
The Lighthouse of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, is centuries old.
The lighthouse sits at the end of a pontoon where yachts and other boats are docked.
tilialucida/Shutterstock
The lighthouse, which is at the end of a pontoon in Venice, was built in 1813.
Big Sable Point Light in Michigan was the last lighthouse in the Great Lakes to get plumbing and electricity.
The lighthouse stands on Lake Michigan.
John McCormick/Shutterstock
Big Sable Point Light is 112 feet tall, and stands on the stunning shores of Lake Michigan, near the town of Ludington. It got indoor plumbing in the 1940s, Lighthouse Digest reported.
St. Mary's Lighthouse is on an island off the north east coast of England.
St. Mary's in the northeast of England was an operational lighthouse until 1984.
chris2766/ Shutterstock
Located on Bait Island, St. Mary's Lighthouse and its cottage were built in the late 19th century. The cottage went on sale in 2011 for around $553,000, complete with 19th-century graffiti and gunshots in some doors, the BBC reported at the time.
Split Rock Lighthouse sits on top of a 130-foot cliff in Minnesota.
Tours are held at Split Rock Lighthouse.
Dennis O'Hara/Shutterstock
Located on the north shore of Lake Superior, it is coupled with Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, which has more than 2,000 acres of trails, waterways, and campgrounds to explore.
Yaquina Head Light is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport, Oregon.
Yaquina Head Light is accessible by hiking trails.
Shutterstock/ haveseen
This lighthouse is located in Yaquina Bay State Park.
The sandy color of the Jose Ignacio Lighthouse in Uruguay blends in with the surrounding rocks and dunes.
Jose Ignacio Lighthouse was named after a Spanish settler.
Ksenia Ragozina/ Shutterstock
Named after the first Spanish settler dwelling on the shores of southern Uruguay, this lighthouse was built in 1877.
Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine first shone its lights in 1791.
From Portland Head Lighthouse, you can see four other lighthouses.
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Not only did John Hancock sign the Declaration of Independence, he also signed the contract that authorized the construction of this lighthouse's Keeper's Quarters.
Hook Lighthouse in Ireland was built 800 years ago.
Hook Lighthouse was built 800 years ago.
matthi/ Shutterstock
Hook Lighthouse is the oldest operating lighthouse in Ireland and the second oldest in the world, after the Tower of Hercules in Spain.
Boston Light in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, is the location of North America's oldest lighthouse, dating back to 1716.
Boston Light is located on the site of the oldest lighthouse in the US.
Shutterstock/ Allan Wood Photography
The original tower was destroyed during the Revolutionary War in 1776, and it was rebuilt in 1783 — now the lighthouse is recognized as the America's second oldest, according to the National Park Service.
South Stack Lighthouse in the UK is the perfect destination for bird lovers.
South Stack Lighthouse is in Wales.
Gail Johnson/ Shutterstock
Visitors can climb to the top and observe thousands of seabirds, including guillemots, razorbills, and puffins. Just be wary — the lighthouse, which was built in 1809, is supposedly haunted.
