When it comes to accessible tourism, Paris might not be the best holiday destination in the world.
In the past few years, the French capital has made considerable efforts to provide handicapped visitors with accessible facilities, but it might be quite a challenge for wheelchair travelers and disabled tourists to get around Paris and visit all the fantastic sights and museums the city has to offer.
Accessible Museums and Tourist Attractions in Paris
Most Paris museums, such as the Louvre, the Musées d’Orsay and the Musée du Quai Branly, as well as the famous Bateaux Mouches boat rides on the river Seine, are wheelchair accessible.
The Centre Pompidou and the Parc de La Villette are the most accessible museums in Paris. Both equipped with lifts, ramps and accessible restrooms, to welcome people with reduced mobility, the museums organize special activities and exhibits for visitors with physical and mental impairments. Activities at the Centre Pompidou include tactile tours and audio guides for the visually impaired, guided sign language tours and bilingual family workshops for the hearing impaired, as well as museum visits lead by lecturers specialized in pedagogical art for the mentally disabled. The Parc de La Villette includes the Grande Halle art center and the Paris Museum of Sciences and Industry where visually impaired people can attend a free relief drawing workshop.
For further details, check out the list of Paris accessible sights and museums released by Tourisme & Handicaps. The association, which provides accurate information on accessible tourist sites in France, has created the“Tourism & Handicaps” label to help disabled travelers and wheelchair users plan their stay in Paris and other French cities. Signs on the “Tourism & Handicaps” label indicate accessibility for one or more disabilities: physical disability, mental disability, visual impairment and hearing impairment.
Another great resource for seniors and travelers with reduced mobility visiting Paris is “Le Guide de Paris Accessible”. In the guidebook, avid wheelchair traveler Franck Vermet divides tourist sights and museums into 4 levels of handicap based on mobility criteria and represented by 4 different colors to help physically challenged travelers plan their holiday in Paris.
Accessible Transport in Paris
Access to public transport in Paris is not easy for disabled travelers and wheelchair users, but in the last few years, the RATP (Paris Transport System) has put many efforts in providing disabled passengers with efficient services, facilities and vehicles that suited their needs.
Both Paris airports are fully equipped for physically challenged travelers and accessible airport transfer to the center of Paris is available from both Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle (RER B train) and Paris Orly (bus shuttle to Anthony station, then RER B). In addition, 38 bus lines and a high number of underground stations are now wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair signs on transport maps tell you which stations you can get on board and get off at. Important: Lifts are often out of order and in most stations you may need the help of an RATP employee to access the platform and board the train.
For the safety of blind and visually impaired passengers, all RER and metro stations feature an acoustic warning system that indicates where the edge of the platform is and limits the risk of falls. In addition, on line 14, metro stops are announced by a speaker. In addition, ticket booths are equipped with a hearing loop system to help hearing impaired travelers communicate with the RATP staff.
The best up-to-date maps and information on wheelchair friendly buses and accessible metro stations in Paris are available on infomobi.com.
Wheelchair Friendly Hotels in Paris
It is not very easy to find an accessible accommodation in the center of Paris. But the most recently built hotels generally have a step free entrance and offer specially equipped rooms to guests with reduced mobility.
Here are a couple of wheelchair accessible hotels in Paris available on venere.com:
L’Amendier Hotel - Paris La Défense
This budget hotel in Paris has received the French “Accessible Tourism” label certification and offers two wheelchair accessible rooms specially equipped to welcome guests with reduced mobility. Located in La Défense business district, the Hotel L’Amendier is housed in a modern building and features an array of amenities including nar, restaurant, garden free wireless Internet connection and free private car park.
Hotel Novotel – Paris Gare Montparnasse
Conveniently located near Gare Montparnasse train station, this brand new city hotel offers wheelchair accessible accommodation in Paris featuring modern amenities. A member of Novotel Hotels, the Hotel Paris Gare Montparnasse also boasts a café-restaurant, an indoor play area, business facilities, private car park and fitness room.
Photo of Eiffel Tower by Daquella Manera
Topic: Tips and Ideas |
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Tags: accessible travel, hotels, Paris, transportation
About the author
Marion is happily employed at Venere.com in the role of Blogger and Venere Travel Blog chief editor. Prior to taking on this grateful task, she was a copywriter in the Venere content department. Marion is originally from Marseille, France and she has lived in Turin and Rome, Italy, as well as in Copenhagen, Denmark. She likes photography and soccer and is a big Olympique de Marseille fan.
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