Couldn%26#39;t find a way to add this to Paris Things to Do. We tried to use this service while in Paris because it looked like a great idea. The kiosks give instructions in multiple languages including English. Unfortunately, error codes still pop up in French! We found our American credit cards wouldn%26#39;t work in many kiosks overseas because they do not have a chip in them. We think this is why the kiosk wouldn%26#39;t accept our card, but we don%26#39;t know because it was in French. So, if you%26#39;re wanting to use this service it may be beneficial to have someone with you who speaks/reads French.
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Generally speaking, you can only use Velib if you have a credit card with a chip.
The only American credit cards that work with Velib are American Express. My Gold AmEx worked in September.
If you%26#39;re interested in using Velib while in Paris and do not have a credit card with a chip, I%26#39;ve read/heard that the American Express Blue cards, which have no annual fee, will work.
Note that riding a bicycle in Paris is not for the faint of heart due to the vehicle traffic and dense pedestrian traffic. The Velib bikes are a bit heavier than standard bicycles.
It%26#39;s also a good idea to print the Velib guide in English and take it with you for reference.
…paris.fr/abonnements_tarifs/abonnement_cour…
If you%26#39;re going to bicycle in Paris, it%26#39;s best to know the location of bike paths, and also streets closed to traffic on Sundays and public Holidays.
See
…paris.fr/EN/living/cycle_tracks/default.ASP
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Yes I agree wit dik.
We hired velibs in Paris in march using a Uk chipped credit card. yes you need a chippedd card. The procedure to hire was easy as you can get the instruction in English. (There is always a friendly French person to help in these situations.) When I got my bill they had just charged me a couple of euros. There was no evidence of the 150 euro deposit. Perhaps they just take that out of debit cards or if you don%26#39;t return the bike.
The bikes are surprisingly easy to ride considering they feel so heavy and the seat is adjustable.
However we found it very difficult to negotiate the one way street system in Paris. We wanted to go from Comedie Francaise to the Marais and knew the way walking easily, but found ourselves going the wrong way. Street maps do not tell you which way the traffic flows. I am an experienced cyclist at home but the traffic was very busy and I felt it was not safe when we were not confident of our route. Also for UK visitors, getting used to cycling on the right added to the danger.
We tried the smaller streets but they were full of pedestrians who would just walk in front of us without warning.
When we eventually got to our destination we couldn%26#39;t find a station with empty stalls and tried three. we just waited in the end for someone to come and take a bike out, this cost us money because we waited over half an hour for two stalls to become vacant.
Still we had fun and we laughed a lot and I will probably try again but next time I will probably try to find a very quiet part of the city way out in the sticks.
Denise
love from england
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I rented last August using a Delta Skymiles Amex. (That%26#39;s one of the reasons I took the card when the offered it LOL!)
I speak no French :( but was able to muddle through. I agree it%26#39;s not for the faint of heart but other then that I had no issues and would do it again!
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Are there designated bike lanes so you don%26#39;t have to worry about getting run over by cars?
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There are designated bike lanes but you do need to watch out a lot. It is much better than 10 years ago but definitely not like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, etc. in terms of bike friendliness.
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Yes there are designated cycle lanes but they are also bus lanes.
I have been told they close some roads on Sundays along the Seine, and there are quieter cycle tracks along the canals.
Next time I will try these first.
Denise
Love from England
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Grandma, they don%26#39;t close the roads to car along the Seine only, but in many neighborhoods. it is plan of a plan called %26quot;Paris respire%26quot; (Paris is breathing). Various nice areas to discover while cycling actually, including canal saint Martin banks, Montmartre hill, Luxembourg area, Bastille/Roquette area, etc; Have a look at all details here...but don%26#39;t try to put this in English: as it is designed for locals, you won%26#39;t get this page in English...but as it is mainly maps info, I feel it is quite understantable for everyone:
www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut…
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You can use an American Express card or a card with a chip. Does not have to be any special color AMEX card, mine worked fine.
There are bike lanes in some place, not others. I did not have a problem with the traffic but my wife got a bit stressed here and there. Still, she loved using the velibs.
As I said elsewhere, I wish I had printed a map of the terminals. They are common, but always seem to be difficult to find just when you need one.
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I recall reading that if you arrive at a kiosk with no free place to put your bike there%26#39;s a way to get an extra 15 minutes credit to ride to the next kiosk. Unfortunately I don%26#39;t remember what that way is, and the velib website doesn%26#39;t have a very good english section. This is mentioned on teh wikipedia page for velib, anyway.
I used my American Express card (US account, no chip) successfully a few weeks ago. I had a Navigo Decouverte (subway pass) and there was a way to associate the credit card to the Navigo pass so all I had to do was slap the Navigo pass on the sensor where the bike was stored - couldn%26#39;t have been easier.
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This from Velib website:
%26quot;If the Station chosen does not have an available Bike Stand, the Customer can obtain
additional time credit of 15 minutes:
•either by swiping his NAVIGO©Pass in front of the Terminal%26#39;s Vélib’©Scanner;
•or by using the terminal keyboard to enter the subscription number and the secret
code of the Vélib’©Ticket.%26quot;
Note that this is not the Nagivo Decouverte, rather the regular Navigo Pass.
You can download the entire General Terms and Conditions from the Velib website to print and take with you.
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