Berlin is also massive. Biking makes it possible to get between sights, restaurants and bars relatively quickly. Seriously, in many cases it’s the fastest way to get around. And you’ll get to experience the city like a local to boot!

Related: 12 Simple ways for saving big on your Berlin trip

Tips for biking in Berlin

Ready to hop on a bike? Here are helpful tips for biking in the city as well as ideas on how to save when renting a cycle.

General biking tips

Navigating bike lanes
As we just mentioned, most streets in Berlin have bike lanes. Sometimes they’re directly on the street, but most often they’re integrated directly into the outer edge of the sidewalk in red or grey bricks. Although you may see the occasional bicycle stenciled onto the bricks, most sidewalk bike lanes are not marked (the ones in the street usually are).

Keep an eye out for red bike lanes painted next to the sidewalk in Berlin. Photo: Eric Sehr

Important note to pedestrians: Do not walk in the bike lane. If you do, don’t be surprised if riders yell at you. Since most Berliners use their bicycles as a mode of transportation, they ride very fast. You don’t want to be in their way.

Slow? Stay on the right: When cycling, if you’re more in the mood for a slow, leisurely ride, make sure you always stay to the right so, any speed demon can easily pass you on the left; otherwise, again, it’s very likely someone will yell at you.

Safety tips

As Berlin cyclists can be an impatient and occasionally aggressive bunch, never allow your children to ride in the bike lane. By law, children are allowed to ride on the sidewalk.

We don’t recommend adults ride on the sidewalk, though. If you do, there is (again) a very good chance you’ll be yelled at, this time by pedestrians. The one exception is the sidewalks next to cobblestone streets — only the grumpiest of grandmothers (and yes, there are some…) would yell at someone for choosing not to take a bone-shaking ride across cobblestones.

Signaling: If you’re riding on the streets, it’s a very good idea to use hand signals when turning.

Locking up: And since bikes often get stolen in Berlin, be sure you always lock your bike to something (a bike rack, tree, fence, etc.).

Bikes on public transit: You can take your bicycle on the U-bahn or S-bahn, except during rush hour. Just make sure you purchase a bike ticket from the station machines (Fahrradticket) for €1.90 for central Berlin or €2.20 for Berlin and Potsdam. Take note that bikes are not allowed in the first train car or the first door of each individual car.

Bike tours and itineraries

If biking around the city sounds too fast and stressful for you, there are also lots of more low-key options for exploring Berlin atop a Fahrrad (“bicycle”).

Exploring parks by bike

With more than 520 acres to explore, Tiergarten park is a natural choice for pedaling around. If you get tired of trees, ponds, and gardens, several major tourist destinations are also close to the park, including Potsdamer Platz, Brandenburg Gate, the Victory Column, and Holocaust Memorial.

To get a glimpse of Berlin’s transportation history, why not bike around the Park at Gleisdreieck. Fairly new, this park includes plenty of old train tracks from the huge train depot located there before the war. Take a break to watch the skaters do their tricks in the skate pool or do a few tricks yourself on the monkey bars, trampolines, and jungle gyms scattered throughout the park.

A group bike tour is a fun way to see Berlin. Photo: Rae Allen

Affordable bike tours

For a taste of Berlin’s most recently formed hipster paradise, take a ride down the Landwehr Canal at Maybach Ufer into the neighborhood known as “Kreuzkölln.” If you’d rather go on a guided bike tour, two companies offer tours at a nice price.

• Free Berlin offers three-hour tours such as Berlin’s Best and Poor But Sexy for €19, price of bike included.
• Berlin on Bike! offers similar tours for a few euros more. Both also give discounts to Welcome Card holders.

Biking in front of the famous East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall. Photo: Leo G

How to save on bike rentals

Whatever you do, try not to rent directly from hotels or most bike rental agencies in the major tourist areas; if you do, it’s likely you’ll pay twice as much. Either way, make sure the rental price per day is no more than €10.

Super cheap rentals

For bargain hunters, we recommend:

• Prenzlauerberger Orange Bikes (€7 per day plus €25 deposit) or Berlin on Bike! (€10 per day) in Prenzlauerberg
• Rent a Bike 44 in Neukölln (€4 per day)
• M’eierrad in Kreuzberg (€3 per day)

Buy a bike (no joke!)

If you plan on staying a little longer in Berlin, it might make sense, both money and comfort-wise, to buy a cheap used bike. The best places to look online are Craigslist (most likely in English) or eBay Kleinanzeigen (in German).

Happy cycling!

The post Biking in Berlin: Safety tips and how to find the cheapest bike rental appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The success of the festival, followed by the announcement that it will become an annual event, cemented the fact that cycling in London is going from strength to strength. And there’s no reason why visitors to the city shouldn’t get in on the action too—there are plenty of options for budding cyclists and serious pros to see the city from two wheels.

Here’s my pick of the most budget-friendly options:

Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme

“Boris Bikes”, as they are widely referred to since London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, launched the Barclay’s Cycle Hire program in 2010, are an accessible and affordable way to make short journeys in London. There are over 8,000 bikes and 500 docking stations across the city where you can collect or drop off your bike.

The “pay as you pedal” option is ideal for visitors who don’t wish to sign up for a membership—simply use a credit or debit card to pay the registration fee (£2 for 24 hours) and off you go. The first half-hour is completely free—after that the price will rise incrementally, from £1 for an hour, to £50 for 24 hours.

Savvy travelers can avoid any cost at all by docking their bike every half an hour and then taking it out again, but that isn’t the most practical strategy if you’re trying to see the city! Keep the bike for two hours and it will cost you a piddling £6, though three hours isn’t such good value at £15.

The main draw to hiring a bike this way is that it’s very convenient—you don’t have too venture far to pick up your bike and you don’t have to drop it off in the same place you started. You can check for the nearest docking/pick-up point and plan routes on the website or by downloading the official app for iPhone or Android.

Long-term bike hire

For those wishing to cycle longer, it’s a better value to get your bike somewhere other than Barclays. On Your Bike in London Bridge has some of the best prices in the city center. 24 hours starts at £18 and you can get a full week for £45. Additional days are just £10 each. Pick one up and follow the Thames Cultural Cycling Tour map to take in London’s key sights. Bargain!

Affordable cycling tours

If you’d rather not hit the roads alone, there are tons of different organized cycling tours worth considering. The London Bicycle Tour Company runs daily tours in central London and the West End from £18.95 for 2.5 hours (and they also rent bikes out from £20 for 24 hours). Fat Tire Bike Tours has a nice selection including a four-hour “Royal London” bike tour for £20 and a sunset River Thames tour for £32.

To get off the beaten track then check out Alternative London, which runs a weekly 3.5 hour bike tour on Saturdays (£20) and a two-hour street art bike tour every Friday (£12). Alternatively, Brake Away Bike Tours has a daily 3.5 hour “Secret London” tour for £18.

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Tourists coming to Paris look with desire at Vélib‘, the city’s public bike-share program. Until recently, when tourists asked me how to rent one, I was forced to dash hopes. For, until recently, you couldn’t hop on a bike unless you possessed a European chip-enhanced credit card.

That changed in the past few months, however. You can now register for a one or seven-day subscription on their Web site with any MasterCard, Visa or American Express card. They will then give you a code to tap into the kiosk screen at any of the city’s 1,200 Vélib’ bike stations.

Note that a one-day subscription costs €1.70 and a seven-day subscription costs €8. Both allow unlimited, free 30-minute rides. Also note that when you subscribe to the service, a €150 “hold” will be placed on your card and will be in place until your subscription expires. Read more on the Vélib’ Web site.

Not in the mood for Vélib’?

If this all sounds like a hassle, fear not: Parisians have been renting bikes since long before the Vélib’ cycled into town. So if you’re not in the mood to join the bike share, but still want to zip around the grands boulevards on two wheels, here are a few places to rent inexpensive bikes so you can play Parisian for a day.

Bike rentals

Toys Paradise
22 Rue Léon Jouhaux 75010
€12 for a full day

After a picnic along the famed Canal Saint Martin, grab a bike from this playfully named corner shop. The service is far from whimsical, but the owners know what they’re doing and the prices are right. You might see me here since it’s where I also head (often) to get my flat tires fixed. I’m not good at avoiding glass on the streets…

Gepetto and Velos
59, rue du Cardinal Lemoine 75005
€15 for a full day
http://www.gepetto-velos.com/

Over in the Latin Quarter, this packed shop offers all sorts of bikes for sale and for rent. Fortunately, it’s located towards the upper half of the St. Genevieve Hill, so you can rent a bike for the day and coast downhill, keeping in mind that you’ll have to bike back uphill to return it. They also have guides available to ride with you if you are interested.

Free Scoot
63 quai de la Tournelle 75005
http://www.freescoot.com/
€35 for a full day for a basic scooter

Located right by Notre Dame, and with a second location on Boulevard Voltaire, Free Scoot offers a solid selection of bikes, but more interestingly, affordable scooter rentals. If you don’t feel like pedaling, hop one of the many scooters that they offer to get the full European treatment.

Bike Tours

If you’d rather take a bike tour and learn about the sights you’re seeing, Paris has several companies that will take you on group tours.

Bike About Paris
http://www.bikeabouttours.com
€30 for a 3.5-hour tour

Bike About Paris is among the most recommended bike tours in the city.  The tour includes some off-the-beaten-track sights and stories along the way.

Fat Tire Bike Tours
http://fattirebiketours.com/paris/tours
€28 euros for a 4-hour city tour

One of the biggest bike touring companies, Fat Tire takes visitors in and around Paris. Check their Web site for day and night tours of Paris, a visit to Monet’s gardens in Giverny and a tour of the Normandy beaches by bike.

Rules and Etiquette

For all rentals, be prepared to leave a deposit or an identity card–this is standard procedure to make sure you don’t ride away forever with the bike.

While you’re on the road, helmets are optional but recommended. Adhere to the numerous and clearly marked bike paths located alongside the traffic lanes. Stopping at red lights and stop signs is normal for bicycles, and none of us are exempt from getting pulled over by the police, even on two wheels. Trust me, I know.

The post Paris: Cheap bike rentals, when Velib’ won’t do appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Since late 2008, BikeMi has operated stations around the city, allowing locals and tourists to explore the city on two wheels for just a few euros. BikeMi currently boasts over 100 pick-up and drop-off stations throughout Milan, with around 1,400 bikes in total. The program is set to expand to well over 200 stations and 5,000 bikes by the end of 2010.

How it works

To hop on, you’ll first need to register. On the BikeMi Web site, choose a temporary or annual subscription and provide your credit card information. Once your card is approved, you will be e-mailed a user code and password to be used at any bike station.

Simply type in your code at the station keypad and take a bicycle. And don’t forget to watch the time—bikes must be returned to any BikeMi station no more than two hours after they’ve been checked out. (Exceeding the limit three times will get your subscription cancelled.)

The daily rate for using a BikeMi bike is €2.50. A weekly subscription costs €6. On top of these flat fees, you’ll be charged €0.50 for every 30 minutes (following the first free half-hour).

All in all, we think BikeMi provides plenty of incentive to slip off the D&G stilettos and get riding through the streets of Milano.

The post Milan: Get moving with the BikeMi public bike share program appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A neighborhood with flair

We the Cheapos do love us some far-flung city character. So, when last in the city of Rembrandt and pancake houses, we opted to stay in Plantagebuurt, where today university buildings and historic remnants reign supreme.

Nestled in the northeastern most part of Amsterdam’s city center, the neighborhood is lush with tree-lined sidewalks and smaller parks and is about a 10 to thirty-minute walk from many sights. Neighborhood attractions include the Rembrandt House Museum, Artis Zoo, and easy walking distance to Nieuwmarkt Square, where you can still see an original guild house or visit the flea markets.

Wartime past

Plantagebuurt was a Jewish neighborhood from the 16^th-century when it boasted factories, booming commerce and specialized industry. The neighborhood has always been a bit more isolated by canals and bridge constructions than other parts of Amsterdam, so it’s understandable that in World War II German armies cordoned off the area to create a Jewish ghetto.

When the war ended, many of the tragically deserted homes were destroyed here. Plantagebuurt was eventually restored in the 1970s. Today only the synagogue and the Jewish Museum remind visitors of the neighborhood’s past.

Getting around

Since Amsterdam is a city on bikes, quite literally, it will take you no time at all to get from Plantagebuurt to the rest of the city’s attractions. Or, you can always hoof it. When the Cheapos were last in Amsterdam, they noted that a good, swift pace got them from the Artis Zoo in Plantagebuurt to Centraal Station in about twenty-five minutes.

If you go, be sure to check out Cafe in de Waag and don’t miss the zoo.

For a list of budget hotels in Amsterdam, visit our guide here.

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