Summertime is vacation time, and for many the temptation to travel abroad is irresistible. If you have an environmentally-friendly lifestyle at home, you may be wondering how to stay green overseas. Sustainable and ethical tourism options are rapidly increasing in number, for the most part in the form of organized tours. But if you prefer to travel independently, it is often more complicated to keep your carbon footprint to a reasonable minimum.

To save you the time and research into the topic, over the next few weeks I will provide tips on how to maintain your green ways on the other side of the pond. The focus will be largely on options available in Paris and in France as a whole, but whenever possible, I will include relevant information on other European countries.

This first article is devoted to transport within the French capital. The network of public transport, which includes the metro, buses and trains, is efficient, comprehensive and user-friendly. But this summer, leg-powered two-wheelers are all the rage. Starting from July 15 over 10,000 bicycles will be available for hire from self-service rental stands throughout Paris. The project, called Vélib (an amalgam of the French words for bicycle and freedom: “vélo” and “liberté”), was planned and sponsored by the Mayor’s office. Thanks to a fully computerized system, the bikes are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All of the stands are equipped with the system that allows you to log in, rent a bike, and consult a user’s manual and a map.

The Vélib’ bicycle is designed to ensure maximum comfort and security, with an adjustable seat, a basket, front and back lights, and reflectors on the wheels. 370 kilometers or around 230 miles of bike lanes across the city are reserved for cyclists. Using a credit card, you must subscribe to either a short-term or a long-term Vélib’ license. As a precaution in case of damage and to prevent the fleet of bikes from being stolen, the system also requires you to authorize a potential 150-euro debit from your credit card.

Whichever Vélib’ license you choose, the first half an hour of rental is free of charge, and since you can drop your two-wheeler off at any stand, there is much potential for a free ride, say to the Louvre or up to Montmartre. Indeed, a press release from the Mayor’s office specifies that Vélib’ was conceived above all as a means of transport for short trips from one point to another in town. If you are keen to explore the city by bike for a whole day, it would be better to stop by one of the professional rental agencies.

Vélib’ is modeled on the system called Vélo’v in Lyon, which has been in place for two years. Similar projects are in progress or already functioning in cities across the country, in Marseille for example and in Aix-en-Provence. But the French are not the leaders in promoting leg-powered two-wheelers. Bicycles have long been the transport of choice for the Dutch. In Amsterdam there are currently about 600,000 bikes for 735,000 inhabitants, and cycling accounts for more than 40% of travel within the city center. As a result, there is less traffic, less emission pollution and noticeably less road stress.

Many Amsterdamers consider their bicycles as an extension of self. They bike to work, to the market and to theatre, often preferring cycling to walking even for short distances. The same cannot be said of the Parisians, but the fashion is catching on. So if, when in Paris you want to do as the Parisians do, you will have to put your legs in gear for some two-wheelin' à la française.

Image source: 20Minutes.fr