These Are the Most Bike-Friendly Cities in the World!
If you’re wondering which are the 10 most bike-friendly cities in the world, we know the answer!
Cycling has its perks. It is fun, it is healthy and it saves gas dollars and, most importantly, it saves the environment.
In many countries around the globe people started to ride more bikes and drive less cars.
A good example is Japan, a large country with more than 126 million citizens, and the more people live there, the more chances are that they own a bike.
In Japan an estimated 3 million bicycles are parked daily in special parking garages.
And several other countries started to embrace cycling. In some of them, you’ll find the 10 best bike-friendly cities.
10Montreal – Canada
We start our top 10 list of the most bike-friendly cities in the world with the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec, Montreal.
The city features cycle tracks dating from the late 1980s and in 2014 Montreal was the host of the 17th UNICON (unicycling world championship and convention).
Its bicycle system is successful and you can see more cargo bikes in Montreal than in most cities in North America.
With 300 miles of trails, including bikes paths, you’ll sure want to visit this city.
Winter isn’t a problem! They even clear the snow from the paths so you can enjoy a refreshing walk.
9Copenhagen – Denmark
Next on our top 10 list is Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark and one of the world’s most bike-friendly metropolises.
Did you know that more than 30% of the population commutes by bicycle?
If you live in Copenhagen then you know that there are bike lanes on each side of several streets.
You can easily get anywhere in the city.
The government started to increase the number of bike lanes, in order to connect the city with outlying suburban areas.
8Dublin – Ireland
Located in the province of Leinster on Ireland’s East coast, Dublin is filled with cycle tracks since the 1990s.
In 2011, Dublin was ranked #9 of major world cities on the ‘Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities’.
Since 2009, a self-service bike rental scheme called Dublinbikes was installed.
The scheme is sponsored by JCDecaux and consists of 550 French-made unisex bikes stationed at 44 terminals throughout the city center.
So you might want to check that out! The image below shows a part of those Dublinbikes.
7Antwerp – Belgium
With a population of 521.000, Antwerp is the second city in Belgium, after Brussels.
In the elections of 2006, 100 km of bike tracks were promised and they did kept their promise, as they were completed in the 2012 elections.
If you’re in Antwerp, the bicycle park facility at the Central train station is worth the trip.
According to ‘Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities’ : ‘Antwerp is one of the cities in the world with a high modal share that has also introduced a bike share system and it has proved popular due to intelligent placement of stations and saturation.
Roughly the size of Copenhagen – both the city and the metro area, Antwerp is an inspiration for medium-sized cities looking to improve conditions for bicycle users. Great advocacy has also been key in boosting the profile of the bicycle as transport.’
6Kyoto, Tokyo – Japan
Let us explain why did we choose 2 cities from the same country.
Kyoto and Tokyo are both are awesome, they both are very populated and they both have multiple bicycle tracks and so many people like to travel by bike.
Tokyo is the biggest city to appear in this top 10 list on the most bike-friendly cities. These mega-cities are an inspiration for the smaller ones.
According to ”Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities’ : ‘Tokyo has more separated infrastructure than most cities but as in 2011, we would like to see the infrastructure network expanded and modernized.
The uniquely Japanese habit of mixing bicycles with pedestrians on sidewalks works in many densely-populated areas but more on-street infrastructure is now becoming the norm in cities.
Tokyo can teach so much but they should also learn from others. The race is on for the bicyclefication of our mega-cities. Tokyo needs to step into a more bold leadership role.’
5Seville, Barcelona – Spain
We couldn’t pick between Barcelona and Seville, as both the cities are so bike-friendly.
Barcelona! What a lovely city! This city made huge efforts to reestablish the bike as a transport. And it impressed us all! Here, the cycling is embraced like in few other places.
Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities posted : ‘What Barcelona needs is political leadership and investment in bicycle infrastructure.’
Building further on the foundations of their hard work. Complancency is a threat to the city.
The proposed Spanish helmet law is another dark shadow on the horizon. Barcelona, like Seville, will suffer the consequences if the law is passed.‘
4San Francisco, Portland, Boulder – US
San Francisco is the most densely settled city in the state of California. It has an ideal climate for outdoor activities.
That being said, San Francisco features more than 320 km of bicycle paths and also, the Marina Green and Embarcadero for those who practice skateboarding and the Golden Gate Park and Dolores Park for tennis.
Portland has earned its place in several ‘bike-friendly cities’ lists.
Almost 6% of its population commutes by bicycle and it features many bike ‘boulevards’, so you have to take advantage.
Boulder offers awesome sights of the Rocky Mountains and it dedicated 15% of its transportation budget in order to improve and promote cycling.
So while in US, take a tour : San Francisco – Portland – Boulder.
3Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux – France
After Tokyo, Paris is the second global mega-city on this list. London and New York are way behind it regarding this subject.
Paris features over 440 km of cycle tracks and, same as Dublin, the city offers a bike sharing system called ‘Velib’ with more than 20.000 public bikes distributed at 1.800 parking stations.
‘Copenhagenize Index of Bicycle-Friendly Cities’ said : ‘Planners have been searching for space for bicycle infrastructure and Paris has some unique solutions.
They are, however, solutions that are not sustainable in the long run. It’s time to up the stakes and go after a more permanent solution with the creation of more protected cycle tracks.
The success of the bike share system is impressive but better maintenance is required, as well as increasing the number of stations at both transport hubs and popular nightlife neighbourhoods.‘
Nantes is also one of the most bike-friendly cities. The ‘Green Capital of Europe 2013’, Nantes will be the host of the 2015 Velo-City Bicycle Conference.
2Munich, Berlin, Hamburg – Germany
Munich is the largest city and also the capital of the German state of Bavaria, located on the River Isar.
It is the 3rd largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg.
In Munich you’ll find a bike hire system in the central area, surrounded by the Mittlerer Ring.
The city of Berlin is well known for its developed bike lane system. The city has an estimated number of 710 bikes per 1000 residents.
Berlin offers 620 km of bike paths, including 150 km of mandatory bike lanes, 190 of off-road bike routes, 60 km of bike lanes on roads, and 50 km of marked bike lanes on sidewalks.
An interesting fact is that in 2009, a total of 500.000 daily bicycle riders accounted for 13% of total traffic. That’s a big deal!
1Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven – Netherlands
Our journey ends in Netherlands.
Amsterdam is the best city for … many things. The city holds the title of the most bike-friendly city since 2013, according to Copenhagenize Index.
Last year, there were almost 1.200 million bikes in Amsterdam, more than the citizens who live in the city.
The capital of Netherlands offers 249 km of bike paths, which we think is enough for everybody to enjoy.
Another city that is bike-friendly is also in Netherlands. In Utrecht, 33% of the traffic is made by bicycle.
The City Council decided that in 2014 the largest bike parking station in the world will be build. The 3-floor construction will cost $48 million Euro and will hold 12.5000 bikes.
This concludes our cover on the Most Bike-Friendly Cities in the World!
What do you think about this top 10 list? Other cities deserve a place in this top? Let us know in the comment section below.
Also, take a look on our article about the Most Peaceful Countries in the World | Top 10.
