Farolim de Felgueiras, Porto

Farolim de Felgueiras is where the Douro meets the Atlantic, built out on the river’s right-bank jetty in Foz do Douro. Before the nineteenth century, reaching Porto by river was hazardous: sand built up at the bar and ships were wrecked. Work on a protective mole began in 1790, with more carried out in 1867.

The lighthouse itself followed in 1886, first equipped with a gas light and a bell. The tower is only ten metres high, but its hexagonal granite form makes it unmistakable. Notice, from a safe standing place, the red balcony and lantern above the exposed stonework, alongside the small white-painted annex.

In 1955, a second-order lens gave a red flash every five seconds, visible for nine nautical miles. It became automated in 1979 and was remotely controlled from Leça Lighthouse to the north. The light went out in 2009, while its foghorn remained.

Its importance to Porto and to the Portuguese Navy helped bring it back into service on 13 December 2021. In 2024, Khruangbin gave a track on A La Sala the lighthouse’s name after the group’s Porto visit two years earlier.