Survival Guide - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 783

Bicycles (not disassembled) can be taken along on virtually all intraregional TER
trains and most long-distance intercity trains, subject to space availability. Bike re-
servations can be made by phone ( 36 35) or at an SNCF ticket office but not via

the internet.
With precious few exceptions, bicycles are not allowed on metros, trams and loc-
al, intra- département and SNCF buses (the latter replace trains on some runs).

BIKE RENTAL
Most French cities and towns have at least one bike shop or municipal sports com-
plex that rents out vélos tout terrains (mountain bikes; generally €10 to €20 a day),
popularly known as VTTs, as well as more road-oriented vélos tout chemin (VTCs),
or cheaper city bikes. You usually have to leave ID and/or a deposit (often a credit-
card slip) that you forfeit if the bike is damaged or stolen.
A growing number of cities - most famously Paris and Lyon, but also Aix-en-
Provence, Amiens, Besançon, Caen, Dijon, La Rochelle, Marseille, Montpellier,
Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Orléans, Perpignan, Rennes, Rouen and Toulouse -
have automatic bike-rental systems, intended to encourage cycling as a form of
urban transport, with computerised pick-up and drop-off sites all over town. For de-
tails on Paris' Vélib' system, Click here .

BUS
Buses are widely used for short-distance travel within départements, especially in
rural areas with relatively few train lines (eg Brittany and Normandy). Unfortunately,
services in some regions are infrequent and slow, in part because they were de-
signed to get children to their schools in the towns rather than transport visitors
around the countryside.
Over the years, certain uneconomical train lines have been replaced by SNCF
buses, which, unlike regional buses, are free if you've got a rail pass.