In pictures: Paris Olympics are a feast for the eyes as iconic venues take centre stage

The Paris Olympics beach volleyball tournament takes place near the Eiffel Tower. © Thomas Samson, AFP

From our special correspondent - The sporting competitions at the Paris Olympic Games are being staged at some of France’s most emblematic locations: the Palace of Versailles, the former bastion of the French monarchy; the final resting place of Napoleon at Les Invalides; that most Parisian of monuments, the Eiffel Tower. Photographers have been happily capturing the spectacle.

The organisers of the Paris Games planned a spectacle like no previous Olympics, with an opening ceremony featuring a flotilla of boats sailing down the River Seine and using Paris’s iconic landmarks as competition venues, the better to showcase the city’s heritage.

The sporting line-up includes equestrian events at Versailles, fencing at the Grand Palais, beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, and breakdancing at the Place de la Concorde. The beauty of the city backdrop has provided an assist to photographers trying to capture iconic sporting moments. 

France's Cassandre Beaugrand won the gold medal in the women's triathlon, racing to the finish line in front of the Dôme des Invalides, July 31, 2024. © Jeff Pachoud, AFP

The start of the men's triathlon, as athletes dove into the River Seine at the ornate Alexandre III Bridge, July 31, 2024. © Lisa Leutner, Reuters

The podium for medalists in the women's team archery event at the Paris Olympics on the esplanade des Invalides, July 28, 2024. Punit Paranjpe, AFP

France's Anthony Jeanjean competes in the Men's Cycling BMX Freestyle event held on Place de la Concorde, in front of the Luxor Obelisk, Paris's oldest monument, on July 30, 2024. © Emmanuel Dunand, AFP

Skateboarding events also take place on the historic Place de la Concorde. © Kirill Kudryavtsev, AFP

An Olympic beach volleyball match being played at the Eiffel Tower Stadium, July 30, 2024. © Kirill Kudryavtsev, AFP

The fencing events take place in the vaulted setting of the Grand Palais, built for the 1900 Paris world's fair and renovated for the Games. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP

In a setting worthy of an operatic stage, fencers make their entrance down the spectacular Grand Palais staircase. © Fabrice Coffrini, AFP

France's Juliette Labous cycles past the National Assembly as she competes in the women's road cycling individual time trial on July 27, 2024. © Dimitar Dilkoff, AFP

France's Audrey Cordon Ragot cycles past Place de la Bastille as she competes in the women's road cycling individual time trial during the Paris Olympics, on July 27, 2024. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

Medal table © FMM graphics studio