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Vélib'ing around Paris – in a Day ('almost' for free)

Vélib'ing around Paris – in a Day ('almost' for free)

Old Jan 16th, 2016, 04:41 AM
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Vélib'ing around Paris – in a Day ('almost' for free)

Vélib'ing around Paris – in a Day (almost for free)

Oui, je t’aime Paris et je t’aime beaucoup – Si chaque ville est une couleur, Londres est gris, Rome est jaune canari, Mykonos est blanc brilliant, et Paris doit être couleurs multipastel ~

Vélib' is not new and it is an extensive, self-service bike rental network all over the city of Paris! Vélib' is not 100% free, you need a small subscription fee to register with a credit card, and then you could travel with a bike and then return it @ thousands of stations.
Some friends told me they have a problem with registration with their credit card @ the station. But for me, it worked like a charm. The first 30 minutes of releasing the bike (until you successfully plug it in) is free --- and so, I was in Paris, (and will be there again soon in June), and there was a day when my friends had “businesses” and I had a day to myself --- I made a plan to bike around Paris to see some of my fav spots in a day.
Since every first 30-minute was free, I, though, every spot had to be (almost) 30-min apart… wasn’t it that easy?
Okay, leisurely cycling, 30-min, rough estimate: maybe 1 to 2 miles, and 200 calories ?

Welcome to visit my blog for photos and details of my route of the day - http://wp.me/p5Lw9a-a0

1. 30 min! Lafayette – Le Louvre
My starting point was @ the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann (The Opera House) and then head to Le Louvre...

2. 30min! (But…) Place de la Concorde – Musée d’Orsay
... Ride on the bike again and I rode along La Seine, heading to Le Pont Royal, going to my next stop - Musée d’Orsay. But then, BAMMM. There were a few stations (as I remember) behind Orsay yet all the bike parking were full…. I had to wait for a spot and it took me like 15-20 minutes and so I couldn’t make it in time.... and
(p.s. I visited Paris again and again and it seems the available parking space has improved)

3. 30min! From Orsay to Invalides
I had a nice time and nice lunch in the museum, and time to wipe the unsuccessful memories in my storybook and hop on the bike to my next stop again....

4. 30+ min! Looking for the Eiffel
So there was always a time in a place when you have planned, but fate just didn’t seem to work out perfectly. After I walked through the Invalides I was in a stage of disorientation... Maybe it was because the Eiffel tower was so tall and big, it looked so close but to me it seemed forever....For one moment I felt like I was trapped in a maze…. I made it to the entrance of the Eiffel tower and of course, the queue was horrendous...

5. 30min! Musée Rodin
I could say this is the unexpected surprise of my day. Following the signs along the road, I arrived a small and elegant mansion right beside the Invalides. The garden is nicely cropped with Rodin’s masterpieces on display. I enjoy the ‘coziness’ of the museum very much.

6. 40 min! Back to Notre Dame ~
I had dinner plans with my friends and I had to meet them @ Le Centre Pompidou by 6! So it’s time for me to make one last stop and go all the way back to the Notre Dame.
It was a bit ambitious, so I didn’t make it within 30 minutes.... anyway, I returned the bike in one piece – Still have time to see street performances outside Pompidou before my friends arrived. p.s. Pompidou closes at 10 pm, so save it for last. Anyhooo… On the escalator up, I got to see a beautiful sunset!
Kennyc is offline  
Old Jan 16th, 2016, 04:44 AM
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Hi !
Welcome to Velibers' club...

When you want to drop a bike and the station is full, you must check in and Velib will give you 15 min of credit.

I took the 45 min option (yearly base) - does it not exist for short rentals ?
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 04:58 AM
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Hi ~
yes, it's good to know that Velib realized the problem of a full station. Actually, I had the same problem when I was in London in July... and when I was using velib, I didn't see the 45 mins option!

I see more free spaces opened up from time to time and parking is now easier.
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 08:11 AM
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The extra 15 minutes for checking in at a full station saved me a number of times in the early days of Vélib. Whathello forgot to say that besides giving you another 15 minutes, the screen also shows nearby stations with empty spaces so you will know where to go.

I would be interested in knowing whether short term users are elibible for bonus minutes. We annual subscribers earn 15 bonus minutes every time we return a bike to a "Vélib +" station. Hint: they are almost always uphill and require more effort to get to. I have 375 bonus minutes built up on my account because I almost never use a Vélib for more than about 20 minutes, and one of my most common return stations is a Vélib + station right in front of Gare du Nord (across from the Thalys lounge). Occasionally, I try to force myself to keep a bike more than 30 minutes just to use up some of the bonus, but I rarely manage to do so. Sometimes when I think I have been riding around for at least 45 minutes, I return the bike and check my account on the screen. It usually shows 28 or 29 minutes!
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 08:58 AM
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765 accumulated min... next year I take the 30 min limit...
(credit went up fast after somebody told me a velib station close to GDN was a V+ one).
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Old Jan 16th, 2016, 09:22 AM
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No need to keep accumulating -- and there is a limit of 1000 minutes anyway, so there will never be a champion.
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