The second stop in Mobility Lab’s European Vacation – Project Bikeshare is Lyon, located in southeast France not far from the tourist magnets of Provence and the Alps.
The city and its surrounding region make it the second-largest city in France, and it is known for its high concentration of top chefs and also as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lyon has not one but two rivers – the Rhône and the Sôane – providing a special light and making it ideal for discovering by foot or by bike. It is also clearly one of the friendliest cities I’ve visited – for bicyclists or anyone. Yet somehow, it seems off the tourist trail of many visiting Americans.
VéloV is Lyon’s bikeshare system, and the city claims that it’s France’s oldest, dating from 2005. The maroon and silver bike stations are visible all over the central city, at the train station, and in the old city. The bikes are used by all sorts of people, from young university students meeting friends at cafés to long-time residents going to markets to tourists gliding along the bike paths along the river.
The bicycles are a wonderful way to experience this city of color and light. We took out two bikes near our hotel at the Place des Célestins so that we could quickly go to the Hôtel de Ville (city hall) to catch an exhibit on the history of the Tour de France. It would have taken us about 20 minutes to walk, but by bike it was about seven minutes, despite the heavy traffic through the shopping district. Notably, the hotel touts the nearby VéloV station as a guest amenity.
VéloV offers instructions in five languages, and although my magnetic-stripe credit card did not work, my chip-and-PIN credit card worked fine. The cost of the one-day pass is €1.50 and a seven-day pass is €5, good for unlimited 30-minute rides, and the passes are available to purchase online.
The bikes are easy to undock, easy to ride, and simple to redock. They have a big front basket and a cable lock, presumably so you can run into a boulangerie and buy a baguette and continue on your way. A €150 hold is put on your credit card at the start of the rental period in case of non-return, so make sure the bike is properly re-docked at the end of your use!
In addition to the Tour de France exhibit, we used the bikes to explore Lyon’s shopping district and then crossed the river to the old city, redocked the bikes at a large and busy station near the main cathedral, and settled into a vibrant outdoor café for an early supper and to watch the city.
Lyon is one of the most bike-friendly cities I have visited. With lots of bike infrastructure on the ground and even more under construction, Lyon is filled with bicyclists of every sort and is very easy to navigate by bike. The drivers are courteous and respectful and there are many dedicated bike lanes. Dedicated bus-bike lanes and the growing number of dedicated cycle tracks make navigating traffic easy, particularly along the rivers.
With two rivers, beautiful architecture, friendly people, and a booming bike culture thanks to the longest-running bikeshare system in France, Lyon has become one of my top places to visit.
Main photo by Edgar Barrera. Other photos by Juliellen Sarver.