Getting around Paris

Bicycles rule.

Majority of trips by locals are done by bike. There are over 20,000 bikes available for hire so visitors and locals are well catered for. Our first nights there was more foot and cycle activity near midnight than there was at 8am. In Arrondissement 12 we saw families using kiddy seats and cargo bikes with little ones on board late into the night.
For those that know me this is a true confession: I have fully emerged into the Parisian bike thing by following the example being set. No helmet, thongs, for convenience I started regarding traffic lights as a suggestion only, and of course a baguette in the basket 🥖.
Our first ride on the rental bike was a shock. There is so much stimulation around. Your eye is drawn to the sites, the unfamiliar roads and infrastructure, signs in French, cars on the wrong side of the road and having to reset your brain at every distraction lest it is me on the wrong side of the road.
It’s also great treat to get about on reliable old Shanks’ Pony. Turn into a lane, pause and admire the ambiance. Stroll onto a Boulevard and marvel at the grand scale of things. Just be careful - there are bicycles everywhere.
Subway is fantastic. We’ve had metro stations within meters of both appartments and the network helps shrink the city. I was a bit alarmed to find that each ticket was €4 each. Then - happy days - the Olympics finished and the price dropped back to the normal price of €2.15. 🤨 Boo to you íle de France. I don’t think the pass holding locals were gouged like that during the Games.
No bikes on the Metro merci!Read more