We recently visited Paris and were intrigued by the public bicycle stands throughout the city, but could not find any information on how to rent them, the costs and bicycle stand locations. Does anyone know of any official brochures/maps/fee schedules available to tourists to utilize this fabulous method of travel? We will be returning in a few months and would love to take advantage of this offering. Thank you.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
http://en.velib.paris.fr/ The only US magnetic strip credit card the kiosks accept is American Express. You can get around this by pre-paying via the website above.
Posted by
Concord
31 posts
Charlie My husband and I used the "velibs" when we were in Paris last summer. We arranged to have a chip/pin American Express card. I think it is blue in color. I can't remember the rates but I think the first 15 minutes were free in anycase. We used an application that gave us a map of the velib locations. We were trying to figure out how to rent bikes at the kiosks when a local gave us help. It seems that some bikes can be used by anybody and some can only be used by those that rent monthly (I think). Once you figure ou how to rent a bike from the kiosk, you simply take it and then return it to any other bike rental area in the city. We did have trouble when we wanted to return our bikes especially around heavily travelled areas. Often the bike return areas were already full. The first time this happened we looked for an hour and finally I went into a Tourist Office for help. THey explained that at every rental kiosk there is information where the nearest bike rental area is that has room available. Once we understood how to find use use the kiosk properly, finding where to return a bike was much easier. Anyway, it was fun and lots of Parisians use them.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33847 posts
Someone mentioned in Paris that first 15 mins is free. Yes, but the deal is 30 minutes free in Paris.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
The system is similar to the systems sprouting in the US. Denver is the site of the first installation in the US. The bike system is design for point to point travel and not for an all day rentals. In Denver, the first 30 mins are free and the second 30 mins is a $1. After that it gets expensive in a hurry. Someone mentioned in Paris that first 15 mins is free. So don't plan on taking a bike and cruising Paris for a day.