Paris 2024: the history and architecture – in eye-catching images

Agence France-Presse have matched up sporting disciplines with historical sites in Paris, resulting in these fascinating and quirky photographs

Main image: The swimmer Béryl Gastaldello stands in the Fountain of Apollo at the Palace of Versailles. The fountain was created by Jean-Baptiste Tuby after a drawing by Charles Le Brun and depicts the Greek god Apollo rising from the sea in a four-horse chariot. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

  • Paralympic long jumper Dimitri Pavadé poses at Sainte-Chapelle, a royal chapel in the gothic style which was the residence of the kings of France until the 14th century.
    Paralympic long jumper Dimitri Pavadé poses at Sainte-Chapelle

  • Fencer Yannick Borel with an épée inside the Palais Garnier, home to the Paris Opera that started in the 17th century and, with around 480,000 visitors each year, is the primary opera and ballet company of France.
    The fencer Yannick Borel poses with an épée inside the Palais Garnier

  • Rugby union centre Varian Pasquet at Place Vendôme in Paris, which was built by Louis XIV with a decree signed in 1686 to house the Royal Library, the Academies and an equestrian statue of himself.
    Rugby union centre Varian Pasquet poses at Place Vendôme in Paris

  • Magda Wiet-Hénin, who competes in taekwondo, inside the Japanese garden of the Albert Kahn museum. The Japanese garden was created by the French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn between 1895 and 1910.
    Magda Wiet-Hénin, who competes in taekwondo, poses inside the Japanese garden of the Albert Kahn museum

  • Basketball player Laetitia Guapo inside the Galerie Vivienne in Paris. Built in 1823, the Galerie Vivienne has been listed as a historic monument since 1974.
    Basketball player Laetitia Guapo poses inside the Galerie Vivienne in Paris

  • Tennis player Diane Parry, who reached her career-high ranking of No 49 earlier this year, poses inside the Richelieu-Louvois Library.
    The tennis player Diane Parry poses inside the Richelieu-Louvois Library

  • Dutch golfer Lauren Holmey poses with La Défense district and the Arc de Triomphe in the background.
    Dutch golfer Lauren Holmey poses with La Défense district and the Arc de Triomphe in the background

  • Showjumper Pénélope Leprevost, who won team gold at Rio 2016, in the Galerie des Glaces in the Palace of Versailles. The Hall of Mirrors was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1678 and completed in 1684.
    Showjumper Pénélope Leprevost in the Galerie des Glaces in the Palace of Versailles

  • Surfer Vahiné Fierro poses on the platform of the Arts et Métiers Métro station. The station opened on 19 October 1904 as part of the first section of Line 3.
    Surfer Vahiné Fierro poses on the platform of the Arts et Métiers Métro station

  • Arnaud Assoumani, who won long jump gold at the 2008 Paralympics following bronze at Athens 2004, before triple jump silver at London 2012, poses in front of the Louvre’s Pyramide, designed by Ieoh Ming Pei. Originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century, the Louvre became one of the main residences of the kings of France and is one of the largest museums in the world.
    Paralympic triple jumper Arnaud Assoumani poses in front of the Louvre’s Pyramide, designed by Ieoh Ming Pei

  • Cycling Clara Copponi, a multiple world and European championship medallist, in the saddle within the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione, which was inaugurated by the newly crowned Napoleon III on 11 December 1852.
    Clara Copponi rides her bicycle during a photo session inside the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione

  • Hockey goalkeeper Mathilde Petriaux poses at the Jardin du Palais Royal, one of the most beloved public parks in the heart of the French capital.
    The hockey goalkeeper Mathilde Petriaux poses at the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris

  • Super-heavyweight boxer Djamili-Dini Aboudou Moindze at Place Furstenberg, in what used to be the first Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey, built in the sixth century by Childebert I.
    Super-heavyweight boxer Djamili-Dini Aboudou Moindze poses at Place Furstenberg

  • Paris Saint-Germain’s captain Grace Geyoro on the terrace of the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
    Paris Saint-Germain’s captain Grace Geyoro on the terrace of the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, with the Eiffel Tower in the background

  • Thibaut Collet, at his best a 5.90m pole vaulter, poses with Notre-Dame in the background, which is still undergoing reconstruction work following a huge fire in 2019. It was originally constructed over the course of two centuries, from the 12th to the 14th.
    Pole vaulter Thibaut Collet poses with Notre-Dame in the background

  • Climber Capucine Viglione poses on a street lamp in front of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica located on the top of Montmartre hill. Pope Benedict XV elevated it to the rank of minor basilica in 1919.
    Climber Capucine Viglione poses on a street lamp in front of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica located on the top of Montmartre hill

  • Para-cyclist Florian Jouanny, who won three medals including H1-H2 road race gold at the Tokyo Olympics, at the two-level Bir-Hakeim Bridge which was built in the early 20th century and registered as a historical monument by decree on 10 July 1986.
    Para-cyclist Florian Jouanny at the Bir-Hakeim Bridge

  • Multi-European Championship canoeing medallist Marjorie Delassus inside the fountain of the Jardin du Luxembourg with the French senate in the background. Since 1799, the Palais du Luxembourg has been home to the senate, the upper chamber of the French parliament.
    Canoeist Marjorie Delassus poses inside the fountain of the Jardin du Luxembourg with the French senate in the background

  • Volleyball player Cyrille Chahboune, a former soldier of Air Parachute Commando No 10, poses at the Grévin Wax Museum, which exhibits hundreds of likenesses of famous figures.
    Volleyball player Cyrille Chahboune, a former soldier of Air Parachute Commando No 10, poses at the Grévin Wax Museum
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