Projects from Saudi Arabia, France and a group of European spa towns have been added to UNESCO's world heritage list on Saturday. 

Battered by the wind and swell for 400 years and nicknamed the "king of lighthouses," France's Cordouan beacon is the last of its kind in France and only the second after Spain's La Coruna to win the plaudit from the world heritage governing body. 

Cordouan was built at the very end of the 16th century and stands in the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Gironde estuary in southwestern France in a "highly exposed and hostile environment," according to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which announced its decision at the committee's annual meeting in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province on Saturday. 

The lighthouse was designed by engineer Louis de Foix and was later remodeled by engineer Joseph Teulere in the late 18th century. 

Describing it as a "masterpiece of maritime signaling," the committee said, "Cordouan's monumental tower is decorated with pilasters, columns, modillions and gargoyles."

"It embodies the great stages of the architectural and technological history of lighthouses and was built with the ambition of continuing the tradition of famous beacons of antiquity, illustrating the art of building lighthouses in a period of renewed navigation, when beacons played an important role as territorial markers and as instruments of safety." 

The increase in its height in the late 18th century and changes to its light chamber at the same time were also noteworthy, the committee said. 

They "attest to the progress of science and technology of the period. Its architectural forms drew inspiration from ancient models, Renaissance Mannerism and the specific architectural language of France's engineering school Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees." 

A sixth site in Saudi Arabia won recognition from UNESCO. Hima, in the Gulf state's southwest, is home to one of the largest rock art complexes in the world. 

"New site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List: cultural area of Hima, Saudi Arabia," UNESCO announced. Hima features more than 34 separate sites, including rock inscriptions and wells along the route of the ancient Arabian caravans. The site covers 557 square kilometers.

Other UNESCO sites in Saudi Arabia include rock art in the Hail region and historic Jeddah. In 2019, Riyadh announced that, for the first time, it would grant tourist visas for those wishing to visit Saudi Arabia. 

Previously, the country was open only to businessmen and Muslim pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. 

A group of major European spa towns was added to the highly prized World Heritage list on Saturday for their "exceptional testimony to the European spa phenomenon" from the 18th century to the 1930s, UNESCO said.

They include Baden bei Wien in Austria, Spa in Belgium, Karlovy Vary, Frantiskovy Lazne and Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic, Vichy in France, Bad Ems, Baden-Baden and Bad Kissingen in Germany, Montecatini Terme in Italy, and Bath in the United Kingdom.

In China for its annual session to review the list of world heritage sites, the World Heritage Committee said the group captured "the most fashionable, dynamic and international spa towns among the many hundreds that contributed to the European spa phenomenon."

(With input from AFP)