Jardin de la Tour Eiffel

The land beneath the Eiffel Tower began as a humble collection of vegetable patches and vineyards known as the plain of Grenelle. These small plots provided produce for local markets before the area was repurposed in the eighteenth century as a rigorous training ground for the nearby military academy. Young cadets, including a future emperor named Napoleon Bonaparte, spent their days performing tactical maneuvers across this expansive, flat terrain. The site earned the name Champ de Mars, or Field of Mars, to honor the Roman god of war and signify its new, martial purpose.