Cycling in Paris can be cheap and fun if you take advantage of Vélib' - a thoughtful bicycle rental service which has become so hugely popular that it quickly expanded to many other European cities too.
The system consists of bike stations scattered around central Paris approximately every 300 metres. The stations are equipped with electronic terminals allowing locals and tourists to rent bicycles for short city rides.
The system is simple to use: subscribe for the service via the terminal (the menu is in English too) or online. If you are a tourist, you will probably be interested in 1-day subscription (€1.70) or 7-days subscription (€8). You will need a bank card to activate your subscription. Vélib' will block €150 security deposit on your card which will be used in case you break or forget to return the bike. But worry not - if you use the service according to the rules, nothing will be deducted from your card apart from subscription. We tested the service ourselves and had no problems at all.
Once you have subscribed to the service, you simply choose your bicycle and ride away. If you return the bicycle at any station within 30 minutes, the usage is free. If all the bicycle parking places at the station where you wish to return your bicycle are taken, sign in to the system, tell the system that you wish to return the bicycle and you will be allocated 15mins of extra time to return your bicycle at another station.
ATTENTION:
Some travellers we talked to clearly misunderstood the terms and conditions
for using Vélib' bicycles in Paris. They thought that bike rental only
costs €1.70 per day. This is not true! There is a difference between the
subscription (€1.70 per day) and actual usage (based on time) of a bicycle.
The €1.70 subscription only gives you the right to rent a bicycle while
usage is charged separately according to the following price list (always
check latest prices at www.velib.paris.fr):
- up to 30 minutes: free
- up to 1 hour: €1
- up to 1 and a half hours: €2
- up to 2 hours: €4
Vélib' service clearly encourages people to use bikes for short trips from one point to another and not to keep them all day long. That is why short rentals are free and long rentals most expensive.
Based on our experience, Vélib' bike rental service works very well. Bike stations are located at strategic points and bicycles are in good condition and available most of the time. We never had to pay extra to use the bicycle – we were able to complete all our trips within 30 minutes. In our opinion, exploring Paris by Vélib' bicycles is a healthy, cheap, environmentally friendly and fun alternative to public transport.
Useful tips
- use Vélib' bicycles for short trips (up to 30 minutes) and you will
not pay a single Euro apart from daily subscription fee
- before removing the bicycle from the station, check its tires, brakes,
seat, bell, pedals and basket
- when returning the bicycle, make sure that it is locked in place (you
will hear a sound and see a green light at the station)
- for more information on Vélib' bicycle service visit www.velib.paris.fr