| Stretching back from the legs of the Eiffel Tower, the long rectangular gardens of the Champs de Mars lead to the eighteenth-century buildings of the École Militaire, originally founded in 1751 by Louis XV for the training of aristocratic army officers. The most famous graduate is Napoleon, but a less illustrious, better-loved French soldier, Cambronne, has his name remembered in a neighbouring street and square. He commanded the last surviving unit of Napoleon's Imperial Guard at Waterloo. Surrounded and reduced to a bare handful of men, Cambronne was called on to surrender by the English. He shouted back into the darkness one word – "Merde" – the most common French swear word, known euphemistically ever since as le mot de Cambronne. The surrounding quartier may be expensive and sought after as an address, but physically it's uninspiring – a case in point is the exterior of the UNESCO building at the back of the École Militaire. Controversial at the time of its construction in 1958, these days it looks somewhat pedestrian, and badly weathered. It can be visited (Mon–Fri 9.30am–noon & 2.30–5pm; free), and there are a number of artworks inside, of which the most noticeable is an enormous mobile by Alexander Calder. The finest feature is a quiet Japanese garden, to which you can repair on a summer's day to read a paper bought from the well-stocked kiosk in the foyer.
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