Un-Vélib-able

by Danielle

I have been wanting to try out Vélib (a bike rental system) ever since we arrived, and last week I had my chance.  Guess what, it’s fantastic! I hope more cities continue to replicate the idea.

Paris’ system is supposedly the largest in the world with 20,000 bikes and nearly 1500 stations. Bike stands are everywhere, each with spaces for about 15 bikes. As an example, there are about 4 stations within three blocks of our apartment. At a station you choose a rental term (1 day= 1 euro, 7 days=5 euros, a year= 29 euros), swipe a credit card, select a bike and you’re off!  The first 30 minutes are free, and if you go over the additional price is around 1-4 euros depending. This is to encourage high turnover of bikes for maximum availability.

There are some “gotcha’s.” For example there is always a chance that a station might not have any bikes, or only broken ones. Or, when you want to return your bike, there might not be any space to leave it. In both cases you just go a few blocks to another station and hope for better luck.

The next hurdle is larger, depending on how easily intimidated you are. The actual biking! Bike lanes are common on wide busy streets, but when there are no lanes you must fend for yourself. Even on small one-way streets, cars, motorcyclists and even other bikers are aggressive. And then there are a pedestrians, constantly walking into the street without looking. I have been guilty of this myself and now I am much more respectful of the bike lanes in particular.

For my first outing on Vélib I ventured just west of the Louvre to the Jardin de Tuileries, Gallerie Jeu de Palme and the Musee de l’Orangerie.  Gallerie Jeu de Palme is a contemporary art museum in a gorgeous building (but sleek and modern on the inside) that was formerly tennis courts during the era of Napolean III. The name (translating to “game of hands”) is derived from the original French name for tennis, before it was played with racquets. Here I saw an exhibit of video art which was interesting but not too noteworthy.

Next up was the recently renovated Musee de l’Orangerie, where eight of Claude Monet’s famous water lily paintings are on display. I was so happy to finally see them, so now I’m eager to compare them to the real water lilies at Giverny. I’m glad I poked around the museum a little bit because there was a large exhibit space for paintings on the lower level.

My reward for this glorious day out? A 20 minute ride home on Vélib, mostly uphill! No need to hit the gym that day, I can assure you.