This interactive satellite photo lets you explore Olympic venues, Paris landmarks

Show Caption

From the River Seine to the Arc de Triomphe, the 2024 Olympic games have offered no shortage of up-close stunning views of Paris, France and its many historical landmarks.

Viewers who have been watching from home as athletes compete in stadiums, arenas and in the streets themselves may have developed a curiosity about where these venues are – especially in relation to the city's world-famous attractions.

To satisfy that curiosity, the European Space Agency shared an interactive satellite image of central Paris, where the Summer Olympics are taking place through Aug. 11. Overlooking the city from high above, the image offers a detailed look at Paris, specifically highlighting several landmarks and Olympic venues.

Paris Olympics: Prize money for track & field Olympic gold medalists is 'right thing to do'

Explore views of Paris with ESA's satellite image

Released Friday on the day of the Opening Ceremonies, the ESA's image allows users to explore and zoom into the city’s most famed areas.

Points of interest on the interactive image invite users to click on a site to learn more about 15 locations throughout the city.

Take a look at the image here:

Image offers info on Olympic venues, famed landmarks

Taken by the space agency's Pléiades Neo mission, a constellation of  two identical satellites, the overhead image shows the Seine winding through central Paris where most of the games are being played.

From there, users interacting with the image can zoom in to explore many of Paris’ world-famous landmarks and several Olympic venues, situated not far from the Olympic Village at Saint-Denis in the north of the city.

Here are some of the highlights:

• At the top right of the image is the oval shape of the Stade de France, where rugby matches were held and where track and field events will soon take place. To the left is the Aquatics Centre, one of the two permanent venues constructed for the Olympics.
• Further southwest across the river is the rectangular Champ de Mars Park, where beach volleyball games have been played with the iconic Eiffel Tower on its northern end as a backdrop. The location is the site of two temporary arenas that were constructed to also host other competitions like wrestling and judo.
• Even further south is the South Paris Arena, a major hub for the games where competitions like volleyball, handball, table tennis and weightlifting are taking place.
• Toward the eastern end of the famed Champs-Élysées are the Grand Palais and La Concorde, both transformed into Olympic venues.
• At the far right of the image is the Bercy Arena, the pyramid-shaped building that is playing host to artistic gymnastics, trampoline and basketball games.

Aside from Olympic venues, the ESA image also marked well-known landmarks such as Notre Dame, the world-famous Louvre Museum, and the Hôtel des Invalides – a complex that is home to museums and monuments related to French military history.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com