Locate a Vélib' bike stand and have your credit card or Navigo -- the Parisian transit system smart card -- with you. Vélib' stations are located every 300 meters in Paris, so they are simple to find once you are in Paris. If you want to plan your trip ahead of time, visit the Vélib' website and consult the map of stations.
Insert your credit card or Navigo card into the slot in the rental booth at the Vélib' station. Your credit card number is taken for security purposes. If you do not return the bike to a Vélib' station you will be charged for the bike. Quite simply, if you break or lose the bike, you will pay for it.
Follow the instructions on the screen in the rental booth. These instructions are available in eight languages, so don't worry if you don't speak French. You can choose a one-day subscription or a seven-day subscription. The one-day subscription is €1.70, about USD $2.35 as of October 2011, and the seven-day subscription is €8.00 or about USD $11.00.
Be aware that in addition to the subscription fee there is also a bike rental fee per hour. Renting a Vélib' bike costs €1.00, about USD $1.38 as of October 2011, for the first hour and fees increase the longer you keep the bike. However, the first 30 minutes of the bike rental are always free. If you return the Vélib' bike to a station before your first 30 minutes are up, you will pay nothing but the subscription fee.
Receive your subscription number from the station. Choose a bike at the station and enter your subscription number on the bike's dock. A green light will flash once you have correctly entered the number. Pull the bike from the station and go.
Push the bike into an empty dock at another Vélib' station to return it. You will see an orange light followed by a green light and you will hear two beeps that indicate the bike has been correctly returned. You can print out a receipt of return at the station as confirmation of return.
