Bicycle-friendly Cities - The Best Destinations To Visit On Your Next Vacation Getaway
Biking is a fun way to explore a city. It allows you to gain a much more intimate look at what makes the city tick, and it's great exercise. By taking a ride off the traditional beaten tourist path, you are able to see what a city is really about. The following places all require a passport, but online service makes getting them easy. Everything from renewing passports to getting more American passport pages requires only a few clicks.
Barcelona, Spain is an excellent place to discover on two wheels. One of the neatest things about this city is the unique bicycle public transportation system. A special card is obtained, and this card allows you to go to any of the 100 stations spread around Barcelona and check out a bicycle. This bicycle can be dropped off at any other station. An extensive system of bike routes makes Barcelona very bike friendly, and more routes are being added all the time. 3,250 street parking spots for bikes are available, and even more are being constructed underground. There is even a whole week dedicated to the bicycle, appropriately named Bike Week. Maps and independent routes make Barcelona one of the easiest cities to explore by bicycle, and after getting pasports online, you can travel there yourself.
Trondheinm and Sandnes are two bike-friendly cities found in Norway and are very popular destinations for bikers worldwide. To encourage this form of transportation, the Norwegians have created bike lifts which operate much like ski lifts. They transport the biker, bike and all, to upper elevations eliminating the need to strenuous uphill rides. This invention has increased the interest and participation in biking by both locals and visitors. Bike rentals are also available in both of these cities.
Copenhagen in Denmark is one of the top cycling cities in the world. Nearly a third of all its residents bike to get places, as the biking system and its amenities are so convenient. In fact, in Copenhagen, you can rent a bike for free. Upon renting a bike, you pay a deposit, but this deposit is returned to you as soon as the bike is returned. In this sense, traveling around Copenhagen is completely free. The paths are plenty and extensive.
Amsterdam in the Netherlands probably stands out as the easiest and most popular location for bike site-seeing. Streets have been planned, constructed and maintained to insure ease and safety when traveling around Amsterdam, whether you are a local on your way to work or a visitor just wanting to see the sights and experience this unique city. The City of Amsterdam is in the process of building a 10,000 space bicycle garage at the main Amsterdam train station in an effort to encourage and facilitate the ease and safety of transportation via a bike.
