Flashiest Lighthouses

In a country most would associate with English colonialism, Pondicherry (Puducherry) is a strongly French-influenced town in the south of India. It grew from sleepy village to significant trade center for the French East India company, which eventually replaced a log fire on a hill with a lighthouse to give ships fair warning.

The lighthouse shot out its first beam in 1836 and remained in use for 150 years. It stands now as a monument, but is being restored as a museum to the French architecture of the town.

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