Velobleu inauguration
Place Garibaldi
Saturday 18th July 2009
Various speeches and maps handed out plus special editions of Nice Matin.
Plenty of the Velos in evidence and at the end, they were carted and cycled off presumably to fill up the stands.
The application forms are ready to download from the website. You need a French bank account and to take some ID with you. Cards are issued at the ligne d'azur office at Place Massena, there's a dedicated counter. It took a very long time and we will have to repeat the process next year when my daughter is old enough to have her own card, you have to be over 14 to use the system.
Tried a bike today just to see how easy it was to lock and unlock and took it for a quick go around the block. It's not that quick a system nor completely intuitive but it worked and no doubt I will speed up with practise. It helped that there was an option for online instructions in English.
We spotted several velobleus out and about. Celebrate a decade of Messenger with free winks, emoticons, display pics, and more.
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9 comments:
Not long before we are also in Nice.I am getting in the mood with help of your blog. We take the train on the 29th from the Netherlands and will spend nearly two and a half weeks there. First few days Hotel Gounod, then two different apartments and finally two nights Hotel Gounod again. Our apartments are at Rue Lascaris and Rue de la Providence.
Kind regards, Mirjam
It's been so hot here Mirjam, hope you have a fan or a/c in the apartments and hotel. You are close by to my studio, give me a wave if you see me! Rue de la Providence is a great choice for Old Nice - a really quiet part but close to everything.
The hotel has airco and the Rue de la Providence (http://www.nicestudios.co.uk/Ruedelaprovidence.html#) a fan at the ceiling. At the new Rue Lascaris (http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p419829) I don't see anything. Can you recommend a shop where we can buy a simple fan that we leave there. Until when do you stay in Nice?
Kind regards, Mirjam
I reckon the large supermarket, Carrefour on Delfino will have the largest selection of fans at the lowest prices although it might be worth checking out Intermarche on Lech Walesa (Intermarche have a hardware shop as well as a food shop on different corners of the road)
We are here most of the summer although I will probably go home for a week or so at some point.
Love the apartments you have chosen.
We have an apartment and spend a lot of time in Nice so your info re velobleu is really helpful - thanks so much for posting it. I have a question - I take it that the Carte Ligne d'Azur is free in itself - but gives a reduced annual tarif so is worth queuing for (have already printed off the forms!) ........and you use the card rather than your mobile to access the service? Am I right?
My understanding (which might be inaccurate) is that the annual cost of the velobleu card is 25 euros but it can be bought for 15 euros IF you are the holder of an annual ligndazur pass - BUT the standard cost for one of these is about 330 euros with significant discounts for students etc. So unless you are in Nice for long enough to get good value out of an annual lignedazur card, it's probably not worth the saving of 10 euros for the velobleu card.
Yes - you use the card instead of phoning, much easier I 'think' although I don't have a French mobile to try and discover the difference.
You still have to queue in the velobleu line unless they've improved the website to let you register online- I've noticed that the website has been changing and modifying a bit only the last couple of weeks - teething problems I expect. They only took a cheque or cash when we registered although they are hoping to accept Carte Bleu soon, so don't forget your cheque book and some ID.
Good Luck! When my husband and I joined, it caused delay and consternation that we wanted to pay just one cheque for the both of us - they couldn't cope with that at first!
Thanks for the info - perhaps they will be used to multiple purchases by the time we get there.......have also found a useful explanation on the Anglo French site http://riviera.angloinfo.com/information/1/cycling.asp
We arrive on Sunday and can't wait for some proper sunshine - it's been a bit scarce here.
Useful link, thanks
We had a problem with the bikes last week - the machine read my card, assigned a bike to me, wished me a good jouney etc but then the cable woldn't release the bike from the stand. So there was I with no bike and the meter ticking and no way of replacing the cable to stop the clock! Luckily it was during office hours and the technician confirmed that yes my account had been activated but he was able to restore the details back to normal. I've been too scared to try the velo since then :-)
Have a fab holiday - it is so hot and humid here and there have been very few breezy days to freshen things up, it will be a shock to the system after the 'barbeque summer' that never happened in the UK.
The technician said there were a few problems that needed ironing out, I will wait another few dayas to pluck up courage - and I will try it during office hours, near the lignedazur office.
Think we will rent for the first time near the ligne d'azur office too - just in case....
Am looking forward to the shock of some hot weather in London it is windy, raining and the sky is grey, grey, grey!
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