Tourism to Cordouan began to appear as Royan began to expand. Starting in 1820, a steamboat service along the Gironde brought people from Bordeaux to the seaside in the summertime. In 1823, the year that the Fresnel lens was installed at Cordouan, a sailboat brought tourists to the lighthouse. After having visited the coast, different guidebooks heartily recommended a visit to the monument; competing to outdo each other in praise, they promised an unforgettable outing. Various texts describe the excursion and testify to the unique nature of the visit, which offered discovery of the maritime environment combined with ancient history and an unusual setting. Those embarking on the visit were summoned aboard by the sound of a trumpet. After braving the sea’s dangers and swells, they disembarked on the rocks, welcomed by the lighthouse guardians who helped them out of the dinghiesand carried them on their shoulders to the sandbank. Access to the lighthouse was carefully monitored. One first had to register at the port office in Royan; the number of visitors was limited to thirty. The regulations were read out at the start of the visit and before visitors climbed the tower. The tour guides gave a detailed history of the lighthouse, making sure to cover its distant origins, evoking images from its mythic past. A bell announced the end of the visit and the necessity to return to the boats before the tide turned.
