The Eiffel Tower’s 120th Birthday Wardrobe

La grande dame de fer is 120 years old and she knows how to hide it or as the French say, maquiller son age.

To celebrate her birthday, new sets of lights have been installed making the light show on the hour from 8 pm to 11 pm an even more dazzling event. After the usual display and sparkles lasting five minutes, le spectacle lumineux spans an additional 12 minutes, one for each decade.

The lady’s new wardrobe consists of the old golden lights sparkling in the night sky, followed an array of kaleidoscopic hues, stroboscopic at times, rhythmic at others and an awe-inspiring moment when she dons her bleu blanc rouge attire, much to the applause and rowdy cheers of the onlookers.

Seen at best from the Trocadero, below is a 5 min edited version of the light show, a spectacle we felt privileged to watch on a cold November night in 2009.