AUSTRIA - Best of Europe 2014 - page 19

While bike programs in other European cities are difficult for tourists to take advantage
of,Vienna'ssystemiseasytouse.Bikesarelockedintomorethan50stallsscatteredthrough
thecitycenter.Toborrowabike,usethecomputerterminalatanyrack:Pressthecreditcard
button, insert and pull out your card, register your name and address, and select a username
and password for future rentals (you can also register online at www.citybikewien.at ) . Then,
unlock the bike you want by punching in its number. Registration costs €1 (first time only),
and they'll place a refundable €20 hold on your card while you're using the bike (only one
bike per credit card—couples must use two different cards). Since the bikes are designed for
short-term use, it costs more per hour the longer you keep it (first hour-free, second hour-
€1, third hour-€2, €4/hour after that). To avoid registering at a machine, you can instead get
a Citybike Tourist Card (sold for €2/day at Royal Tours, near the Hofburg at Herrengasse
1-3—see map on here ) , but this extra step isn't worth the trouble. When you're done, drop
offyourbikeatanystall,andmakesureit'sfullylockedintotheracktoavoidbeingcharged
for more time.
Renting a Higher-Quality Bike: If you want to ride beyond the town center—or you
simply want a better set of wheels—check out Pedal Power, with a handy central location
near the Opera House. The local authority on bike touring in town and to points along
the Danube, Pedal Power rents bikes and provides good biking info (€5/hour, €17/4 hours,
€27/24 hours, daily May-Sept 8:30-18:00, Elisabethstrasse 13 at the corner of Eschenbach-
gasse—see map on here , tel. [phone], www.pedalpower.at ). For a better selection and
bettergear,it'ssmarttousetheirmainofficebyPraterPark.Whilelesscentral,it'sveryeasy
to get to (U-1 or U-2: Praterstern, then walk 100 yards to Ausstellungsstr 3). They can also
deliver a bike to your hotel and pick it up when you're done (€32/day including delivery,
service available year-round), and they organize bike tours (described later). Pedal Power
offers a 10 percent discount to anyone with this topic.
Tours in Vienna
To sightsee on your own, download my series of free audio tours that illuminate some of Vi-
enna's top sights and neighborhoods (see sidebar on here for details).
Walking Tours
The Walks in Vienna brochure (available at the TI) describes the city's many guided walks.
The basic 1.5-hour “Vienna at First Glance” introductory walk is offered daily throughout
the summer (€14, leaves at 14:00 from the main TI just behind the Opera, in both English
and German, just show up, tel. [phone], mobile [phone], www.wienguide.at ) .
Various specialized tours go once a week and are listed on the website.