Brighter future for lighthouse guesthouse

A lighthouse near the bank of the Seine on the outskirts of Honfleur that has been transformed into a guesthouse has been given extra protection, after it was declared a historical interest site by French officials.
The 1850s monument, in Fatouville-Grestain on the Eure-Calvados border, was inherited by Anne Durand in 2000 from her great-grandfather, who bought it in 1923.
She lives in a house at the foot of the tower with her husband and son, and has successfully converted the site into a 12-bedroom chambre d’hôte.
Regional cultural heritage body DRAC has carried out a series of examinations over the past year and the French culture ministry has now awarded the historical monument badge to the building.
“For us, this is the culmination of 10 years’ work,” Mrs Durand told The Advertiser.
“We will not be able to transform anything in the lighthouse. Say if I suddenly had a moment of madness and wanted to paint it red, I could not do it. It is protected and it always will keep its authenticity. No one will ever be able to dismember it.”
The Durand family decided to convert the monument into a guesthouse to help meet the costs of keeping the 32m-high tower in good condition, which requires constant effort.
“It is a family house. We have many memories here and the surroundings are more than nice, but there are also drawbacks,” she said.
“Anyone who looks after a big house has to accept the pros and cons of it. We are fit; we do not need to go running because we know that we will be always climbing lots of stairs.”
The chambre d’hôte itself is based in the old lighthouse guardian’s house at the foot of the tower and can accommodate up to 12 people in five rooms. Guests mostly come from Paris and the north of France, attracted by the unusual place to stay.
Mrs Durand said: “People are delighted when they first visit the house. From the top of the lighthouse, you can see all the bay of the Seine, the estuary, the sea, the Pont de Tancarville and the Pont de Normandie.”