In June 2012 I stayed at a small hotel in rue Lally Tollendal in the 19th arrondissement, in the northeast corner of Paris. At first I thought it was a bit far from the center, but after I knew the way it only took me 22 minutes by Vélib’ bike to get back to the hotel from Place de la Bastille.
Vélib’ station 19012 (first photo) was half a block from the hotel and had, at the time, 58 attachment points. I always found a bike here when I needed one, and always found a free attachment point when I returned in the evening.
The old Hôtel du Nord with Vélib’ station 10111
The quickest route to and from the city center was along the Canal Saint Martin (where I also took a canal cruise one morning), by way of the old Hôtel du Nord , which is no longer a hotel (as it was in Eugène Dabit’s novel and Marcel Carné’s film), but is now a popular restaurant with Vélib’ station number 10111 right out in front.
Book stalls on Quai Voltaire with Vélib’ station 7006
That week I did a lot of cycling, for instance along the Quai Voltaire by the Seine, with some typical Paris book stalls in the background. (See my post Les Bouquinistes.)
People on Vélib’ bikes, 2012
Vélib’ station number 1001, near Pont Neuf
My photos in this post are from 2012. I revised the text in 2020.
Next: Vélib’ 2013.