The Ride Home

Paris is incredibly bike-friendly, and has been since long before the advent of the Vélib' program, which supplies the bikes I ride. Most major streets have some kind of dedicated bike lane, either within the median, cordoned off by a narrow median on the side, or in a shared bus/bike lane. Rue Beaubourg (leading past the Centre Pompidou and to the Hôtel de Ville) is a fine example of the latter:

Did you notice the green and white cyclist symbol painted on the pavement? Anywhere you see that is where cyclists are supposed to be, both for their safety and for smoother traffic flow. There are also bike-specific signs (same colors) on the side of the road, pointing out the most direct way for cyclists to get to big intersections and landmarks. There are even bike-specific traffic lights at cyclists' eye-level, which unfortunately you can't quite make out in this next video (which also shows off bike lanes within the median of a boulevard):

I travel down this bike lane on my way back home from the Médiathèque Gustav Mahler, one of the libraries I've been working at. While normally, bike-riding itself is entertainment enough (especially when there isn't a dedicated bike lane), the boulevards that run along/through Montmartre offer lots of unusual sights. Here's a short narrated tour:

Do I need to do anything else to convince you that Paris is a great city to see by bike?