Vélib Bike Rentals

ABOVE: Vélib bicycles for hire.

Also see: Paris Transportation Index

Paris isn't usually known as a city of bicycles--or bicyclists--but Mayor Bertrand Delanoe wants to change that perception. The Paris Mairie (City Hall) has launched a "Vélib" program that offers more than 10,000 three-speed bikes at 750 stations. You'll pay €1 for a day ticket or €5 for a seven-day ticket, which lets you take an unlimited number of 30-minute journeys. Trips longer than 30 minutes incur additional fees, since the Vélib program is designed more for transportation than for touring.

You can pick up a bike at any Vélib station and return it at any other. Just to make sure you that don't keep it, you'll be required to supply credit-card information before taking a bike, and the bike will sound an alarm if you try to haul it back to Huddersfield or Hackensack.

If you're staying in Paris a while, you can get a Vélib pass for an extended period at a cheaper rate:  €5 for seven days, or €29 for a year. (The fee of €1 per half-hour of bicycle rental still applies.)

Non-francophones needn't worry: In addition to a multilingual Web site (see link below), Vélib has instructions in eight languages at the bike stations.

For more information on the Web, see www.velib.paris.fr, click "English" in the language-selection box, and use the English-language navigation menus. To search for Vélib stations, use the interactive map, which lets you zoom and click on the "V" icons to find addresses and see how many bikes are available at that station right now.

Also see: Paris Transportation Index

Top photo copyright © Peter Bates.
1st inset photo copyright © Paris Tourist Office. Photographer: David Lefranc.
2nd inset photo copyright © Paris Tourist Office. Photographer: Amélie Dupont.

Last updated January, 2008

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