The Saint-Mathieu lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Pointe Saint-Mathieu in Plougonvelin, around Brest in Finistère. The lighthouse is open to the public. Saint-Mathieu was built in 1835 among the ruins of the ancient Abbaye Saint-Mathieu de Fine-Terre. It is a major lighthouse of the French coast, with a theoretical range of 29 nautical miles (around 55 km). Along with the Kermorvan, it signals the direction of the Chenal du Four, which transient ships used to follow on a north-south axis before the creation of the Rail d'Ouessant. Saint-Mathieu’s alignment with the Portzic lighthouse also indicates the route for entrance to the Goulet de Brest. It was classified as a monument historique on 23 May 2011.
The Phare du Petit Minou is a lighthouse in the roadstead of Brest, standing in front of the Fort du Petit Minou, in the commune of Plouzané. By aligning it with the phare du Portzic, it shows the safe route to follow for ships to enter the roadstead. It also has a red signal that indicates a dangerous sector around the plateau of les Fillettes (literally the girls), one of the submerged rocks in the goulet of Brest — sailors remember this by using the mnemonic "the Minou blushes when he covers les Fillettes".
