The northern tip of the Ile de Ré bears the mark of the history of the many strandings it has witnessed. From the whales that have beached themselves on its shores, it bears the name: Pointe des Baleines. From two ships that ran aground on its rocks in the middle of the 17th century came the resolution to build a lighthouse there to signal the danger that it represented for sailors who came too close. This lighthouse was given the name of its history: the Whale Lighthouse.