Paris Feeds the Bike Bug

Paris has more than 230 miles of cycling lanes, and starting July 15 Parisians and tourists alike will have another reason to explore all of them because of Velib, the city's new transit system. Velib allows tourists and locals alike to pick up and drop off bicycles throughout the city at 750 locations. It's an easy-to-use system, and relatively cheap. For €5 per week or €1 per day (payable by credit card at any of the stations), you can rent bikes for 30-minute stints, with each additional half-hour costing, respectively €1 for the second half hour; €2 for the third half hour; and &euro4 for additional half hour segments. Each Velib station will be equipped with meters to purchase one and seven-day passes.