On the other side of the city, Henry VIII's palace at Hampton Court is the site for the start and finish of the Olympic cycling time trials, with the rest of the course winding around Esher in Surrey to the south west of London.Olympic and Paralympic shooting and Paralympic archery will be held here. The London port of Woolwich has a long military history and the construction of the current Royal Artillery Barracks buildings began in 1776.Competitors will take part in equestrian cross-country through the park followed by dressage and jumping in an arena in front of the 17th Century Queen's House. The World Heritage Site of Greenwich Park in south-east London is home to the equestrian events and elements of the modern pentathlon.Organisers have taken care to protect the cricket square but new turf is being grown in case patching is required at the end of the Games. Archery events are being held at Lord's Cricket Ground, with the field of play running between the pavilion and the media centre.The creation of temporary venues around the city is intended to showcase London as a backdrop to the Games. Horse Guards Parade in the heart of Whitehall is staging the beach volleyball events.The open water swimming marathon will also be held here. Hyde Park in the city centre is hosting the triathlon with the swimming element taking place in the Serpentine. Many events are being held outside the Olympic Park in venues across London and beyond.The arena will also host the fencing element of the modern pentathlon in the Olympics and goalball during the Paralympics.

Inside, the seats are finished in bright colours while the building's exterior is clad in copper, much of it recycled.

The Handball Arena hosted the Olympic test event in 2011.

The arena will also host five and seven-a-side football during the Paralympics.

It is designed as a low elevation venue, allowing views across the Park and into London beyond. The Hockey Centre is a temporary arena in the north-west corner of the Olympic Park.

Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy was consulted in the design of the venue and has praised the cauldron-like atmosphere. The track is made of Siberian pine while the exterior is clad in red cedar. The Velodrome was the first Olympic Park venue to be finished, in February 2011.As well as Olympic and Paralympic basketball, the stadium will host the handball finals. A crowd of 12,000 can gather under the 20,000 square metres of white pvc fabric, stretched over an arching steel frame. The mattress-like Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary venues used for an Olympic Games.All images London 2012/Getty unless otherwise stated This is the venue for diving and swimming, with water polo in a separate arena. Designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, the Aquatics Centre is another permanent stadium with temporary seating in 'wings' which will be removed after the games.The stadium has a temporary layer of seating which will be removed after the Games. The distinctive Olympic Stadium greets visitors who pass through the southern entrance of the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.Once the Games are over it will be turned into 2,818 homes, almost half of which will consist of affordable housing, and be known as East Village. It's also the site of the Athletes' Village, which for the next few weeks is home to 17,000 athletes and officials from 200 countries. The Olympic Park is the heart of the Games and contains eight separate sporting venues.

Earls court london olympic venue