With its year round sunshine and low rainfall, Barcelona is the perfect city to explore on bicycle thanks to an extensive network of cycle lanes as well as numerous pedestrian streets and broad ramblas in the city centre. Barcelona is very compact so it is always easy to travel within the city, and easier still by bike. Like its northern counterpart in Denmark, Copenhagen, Barcelona has made itself into a cycle city where the bike is replacing the car as a main means of transport. The only difference is that Barcelona is less cold and wet and has more daylight to see by!
In recent years the ajuntament (local council) has invested a great deal of funds in creating a network of cycle lanes throughout the city. Hard to miss is the bicing cycle scheme. Also sponsored by the ajuntament, this innovative scheme incorporates bicycles into the cities integrated transport network. Once you have joined, rental for up to 30 mins is free.
The scheme has been a great success for the city and for the promotion of bicycles as a green and cheap means of urban transport, and is now being copied in Paris. The bad news is that it is not available to foreigners, and you have to be registered as living in Spain to sign up.
None-the-less, the private sector offers countless opportunities for cycle hire – try http://www.bikerentalbarcelona.com/, http://www.budgetbikes.eu/ or http://www.barcelonabiking.com/
So if you are visiting Barcelona why not see some of its sites under pedal power? This is a great way to see parts of the city you otherwise would not discover and will transport you between sites quickly and safely.
