Cycling’s great cities

Beijing for the craziness, Paris for its politeness or the peace of Copenhagen; here are five international destinations where cycling is a must.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is proclaimed widely as the planet’s most cycling-friendly city. As tourist officials say, more than one million kms are ridden daily, mostly by bare-headed types in everyday clothes; not many Lycra-types here. The rider will immediately appreciate the relative easy going traffic and the safety of bike lanes.

Sydney

Not known to be an overall bike-friendly city, particularly when dealing with the impatient taxi drivers. But it mainly deserves a top place for one thing: Harbour Bridge’s bike lane. Addiction sets in once you’ve biked across this bridge on a sunny day. For the brave warriors – and if no one else is to be found – you can even attempt a ride down the 45-degree slope in the middle of the stairs.

Beijing

China’s love story with cycling may nearing the end but the bike is definitively the best way for a newcomer to discover its capital. Numerous bikes have been replaced by sleek new automobiles, but the switch in Beijing has not been as complete as in some other cities in China. Many larger roads still boast wide bike lanes and you can spend hours spinning round the smaller streets; the Hutong districts are great to do so.

Paris

The French capital is another city not usually considered as a cyclists’ haven. But the Velib system has boosted the prominence of bikes. Paris’s compact urban layout makes cycling a very practical choice. People occasionally do jump a red light (or two) or borrow a sidewalk, but it’s practiced with some sensitivity to pedestrians.

London

London is still a lovely city to ride your bike, whatever is the drivers’ mood, or some of the other cyclists, that day. The centre of London, with its relatively small traffic problems combined with the fact that the City is jam packed with old historical structures, makes it an ideal location for the visiting two-wheeler guy or girl.

 
We would like to thank www.guardian.co.uk for information used in this article.