Bicycles, Geneva

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Photos:
1. Genèveroule lending point behind the main railroad station
2. Genèveroule lending point on the lakeshore
3. Genèveroule with the jet d'eau in the background

Geneva is one of nine Swiss cities that lends out bicycles for free for up to four hours at a time, the others being Bern, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Renens, Sion, Thoune, Vevey and Zürich.

I used this service when I was in Bern, and found it really good, but I didn't use it in Geneva because of the requirement that you have to return the bike by 9.30 pm, which was all right in Bern, but I knew that in Geneva I was going to want to have a bike late at night to ride home from the opera and the theater, so I went for the more expensive option of renting a bike from the Swiss Railways at the main station.

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Photos:
1. Cycling in Geneva
2. In the city center, near Place des Eaux-Vives
3. Cycling near the station
4. Father and son on a bike in the Old Town
5. Cycling by Lake Geneva on a midsummer evening

As in most European cities, the best way to get around is by bicycle. Except for the Old Town, the city is fairly flat. Though some of the major streets are infested with unnecessary automobile traffic, there are some fine cycling routes along the lake shore and up towards the United Nations.

I didn't even find out until later that they have a very good cycling map called VELO-LOVE. Vélo is a French word for bike, and it happens to be an anagram of the English word Love, so that makes for a good slogan:

VELO
LOVE

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Photos:
1. Safe guarded bicycle parking in the main train station Cornevin in Geneva
2. Entrance to the bicycle parking room

It's hard to believe that there are still cities in Europe that do not have this basic and absolutely essential sort of facility -- I'm ashamed to admit it, but my home city of Frankfurt am Main is one of those backward places.

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Photos:
1. A new bicycle lane clearly set off in red.
2. Many of the one-way streets are open to cyclists going the other direction, as indicated by this symbol and arrow.
3. Often bicycle lanes are painted on the street, which is usually a better solution than having a bike lane up on the sidewalk.
4. Bicycle routes in Geneva are often clearly signposted, like this.

Some of the newer bicycle lanes in Geneva are clearly set off in red, as in the first photo, which makes them a lot more visible to motorists. This is standard procedure in one of the German states, Nordrhein-Westfalen, but not in the rest of Germany on the grounds that it is too expensive.

Geneva is a fairly small town (less than 200M inhabitants), so the countryside is never far away. And countryside in Switzerland means a village every 5 or so kilometers, and a village always has at least a watering hole (cafe, restaurant, pub, or simply a fountain with drinking water), a post office, a bus or rail stop. A healthy and rewarding way to discover some of Europe's most beautiful sceneries is on a bicycle. You don't have one? No problem, some 100 railway stations in Switzerland rent good bikes at between Fr.20 to 36 per day, with reduced rates for longer periods.
In Geneva, there is also the GENEVE ROULE shop at place Monbrillant. behind the main station that rents bikes at a daily rate of Fr 7 for a standard city bike up to Fr. 20 for a tandem.
Too tired to cycle back? Again no problem: Return by train, overland bus or boat together with your bike (most trains in France carry the bike for free, in Switzerland add about F 10).

Geneva is a relatively small town, but people have the habit of crossing the road by car! Trying to change these habits, public transportation (bus, tram) has very much improved over the last years and is heavily subsidised. If you want to move freely, fast and everywhere, leave your car in a parking (the main station carpark is cheap at night) and travel by foot, bus or tram and...bicycle (bike paths along most main roads). You can rent a bike - some even for free - behind the main station in bike shop

Visit the region of Geneva by bike. I liked to visit some Switzerland cities and country side with a bike, during summer season.
Please find some info at this wonderful site: www.cycling-in-switzerland.ch


Free bicycle train timetable prepared for Cycling in Switzerland. It contains detailed information on the 56 recommended train, postbus and boat connections. Available in German, French and Italian. Find out about departure times, transport capacity, fares and why it’s worthwhile having your bike transported over these stretches.

Nine interlinked touring cycleways with a total length of 3,300 km open all the regions of Switzerland and make totally new insights and experiences possible. • INFO at www.myswitzerland.com

You can rent it at every the Railway station.
www.rentabike.ch