For Vienna’s City Bikes, you can sign up online or at one of the kiosks by entering your credit card information.
In a city known for its cakes and sausages, a form of transportation that helps you burn off the calories is more than welcome. Vienna’s U-bahn (their subway) and S-bahn (street cars) are easy to figure out and not terribly expensive, but neither are as fun as the City Bikes. Many cities throughout Europe have implemented similar systems. Check out Barclays Cycle Hire in London or Paris’ Vélib’ bikes before the snow comes.
For Vienna’s City Bikes, you can sign up online or at one of the kiosks by entering your credit card information. There are bike racks throughout the city, so whenever you want a bike, you put in your credit card, select your bike, and ride off. The first hour is always free and after that there is a small fee. The best part is that you can return the bike to any rack in the city. Don’t forget that your credit card will be automatically charged if you go over an hour. I have heard some horror stories of people taking their bike home with them because they were in a hurry and returning it the next day with a hefty credit card bill.
The first time I used one of the bikes I felt like I was in an action movie, dodging cars left and right. I quickly figured out where the bike lanes were and never had a problem again. Many Viennese use bikes to commute and others enjoy taking rides around the ring (the circular street surrounding the inner-city) or through Vienna’s many parks. My favorite place to ride was along the Donaukanal, which is covered in cool graffiti, giant trees and friendly sunbathers.
All of the bikes have a basket on the front and many are bright purple or yellow. While living in Vienna, I would often ride by the Naschmarkt (Vienna’s huge food market) on my way home from work, grab some groceries to put in the basket, and ride home feeling like a true European city girl.
