The Lantern Tower (French: tour de la Lanterne) is one of the three medieval historic towers in La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes, France, which guarded the port at Aunis.

The Lantern tower served as a Lighthouse and a prison throughout its history.

In 1789 the French government declared it a Monument historique[1] The original purpose of the tower was to watch ship traffic in the port.

The tower was used to watch the Aunis coastline during the middle ages; and it was used to guide ships into port.

[3] Media related to Tour de la Lanterne at Wikimedia Commons