In 2016 I only went to Paris once. I stayed at a small hotel called Hôtel du Brésil on rue Le Goff, which is in the 5^th arrondissement near the Luxembourg Gardens and the Panthéon. My reason for choosing this particular hotel was that it is close to a train station of the RER B line, which I needed for going to the opera house in the southern suburb of Massy.

This may well have been the same Hôtel du Brésil where my father stayed 85 years before, on Tuesday, April 14, 1931.

Across the street from the Hôtel du Brésil there is a large Vélib’ bicycle station, number 5003. Unfortunately I was there during a rainy week, so I didn’t use the bikes as much as I usually do, but when the rain stopped (or at least let up a bit) I found it convenient to have the bike station right in front of the hotel.

Vélib’ station 5003, across from Hôtel du Brésil

The hotel and the bike station are on a small hill, called Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Since the altitude is slightly higher than 60 meters above sea level, this station is a Vélib’ Plus station, meaning that if you ride one of the bikes up from a lower station and dock it here you get an extra fifteen minutes credited to your account for use on a future ride.

Among other places, I rode to the Place des Vosges to see Victor Hugo’s old apartment, and to the Palace of Discovery (Palais de la Découverte), which is a science museum located in the west wing of the Grand Palais, in the 8^th arrondissement.

My photos in this post are from 2016. I revised the text in 2020.

Next: Vélib’ 2017.