NYCgirl12

Hi,
Best walking city in Europe? I'm looking for 'walkable' in reference to distance between attractions, condition of roads, sidewalks and especially presence of steps.
I'm asking for a slighlty disabled person who walks with a cane but, needs to be able to stop and rest and can only manage 2 or 3 steps at any one place. I know it's a lot to consider but, I would appreciate any help.
Thanks!

ribeirasacra

The Netherlands is one of the best (read social) countries for disabled. And it is flat to boot.

Dukey

I was going to say A-Dam but SOME of those streets are rather "bumpy" on the sidewalks along the canals...and there can be some cobblestones to deal with as well...otherwise probably a good choice.

Steve_James

Hi NYCgirl - Any particular country?

StCirq

<<can only manage 2 or 3 steps at any one place.>>

Seriously? 2 or 3 steps? I don't mean to sound snarky at all, but how would this person get around ANYwhere? Do you mean that he/she has to stop and rest after 2 or 3 steps or what? Sorry, I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you mean.

Agree that the Netherlands is disabled-friendly, or at least more so than some other European destinations.

But where (what countries) does your disabled friend WANT to travel to?

kerouac

I think it is better to make a wish list of destinations and then verify their accessibility.

The city of Paris, for example, has an entire section of the municipal website devoted to tourism for the disabled, and I would imagine that all of the other major cities of Europe have the same thing.

Ozarksbill

Problem with the Netherlands which we just visited and also Belgium is that pedestrian walkways are mostly cobblestone or brick and uneven. Yes, the countries are more level but many places in Europe have rough sidewalks. Having said this I am so glad I didn't stumble once in our recent tour whereas I stumbled three times but without injury in a Scandinavian trip. Still I did see many people being pushed in wheelchairs.

Ozarksbill [email protected]

Mimar

In general much more walking is expected in Europe than in the US. If an individual can only walk 2 or 3 steps, I think a wheelchair or, better yet, a scooter would be better than trying to walk.

Did you really mean 2 or 3 steps?

ethrush

I think the OP meant 2 or 3 steps UP to a doorway or something. Almost everything worth seeing in Europe is up a steep flight of steps or up a hill, but the major cities like Paris are more likely to have made alternate access available. I haven't looked at the municipal website for Paris, but that sounds like a good place to start.
Be aware that in most of the small cafes and brasseries in Paris and the rest of Europe, the rest room is almost always up a flight of steps or down a flight of steps.

LJ

Florence is not bad...I traveled the downtown core with an 83-year-old who was on her second hip-replacement and the fact that so many of the sites are in such a concentrated area helped a lot. Lots of places to stop and rest. I also assume you meant 2-3 stairs and not steps?

Rome was okay: same trip and we made use of the hop-on/hop-off bus (#64?).

Don't even think of Venice.

ira

Hi NYC,

If you mean 2 or 3 STAIRS -

Paris
London
Florence
Munich
Beaune

Nikki

Barcelona and Madrid are both good, neither has steep streets in most of the center and no need for too many stairs.

Paris has hilly sections, but much of it is fairly level and there is an extensive bus network that will help to avoid the steps up and down to the metro.

Rome has hills, but many of the major attractions can be seen without climbing them and without too many steps. As an added attraction, the ruins provide places to sit and rest. there is also an extensive bus network.

As noted above, Venice would be challenging. While it is flat, there are steps up to the many bridges across the canals.

Viajero2

My husband uses a wheelchair and I always annotate observations on cities' layout and accesibility.

Amsterdam is one of the WORST cities we encountered for accesibility. We totally understand the fact that most hotels were not accesible; very strict on remodeling work and the type of upgrading that can be done. We get that. However, in a city where bycicles are so incredibly popular we found the width of walkways very limited (24-36 inch is the standard; many access walkways are nowhere near that), transition curb areas, and ramps were very rare around canals walkays. Again, this was our personal experience. St. Petersburg was out of the charts as far as non-accesible. People actually stopped and stared with their mouths open in seeing my husband maneuvering around. We still laughed at that one.

One city surprisingly accesible? PARIS. Not only that, the kindness of strangers in letting the way or helping on a steep bump was frequent and very appreciated. The metro still has to caught up, but the stations listed as accesible were really well laid out. The fact the city has so many parks peppered around was such forward thinking in terms of accesibility as it worked out. MADRID was another excellent city for accesibility. That said, I think BARCELONA was the best.

Rome and cobblestones; enough said.

Wherever city you decide to try out, I applaud you for getting out there and planning smart. I still have to regret ANY travel done; we learn so much no matter what. Have fun!!!

Michel_Paris

For Paris if you stayed near St Michel in the 6th, for example, you would be within walking distance of a lot of things to see. I personally use the Metro and walk a lot, but in your case I would not for Paris. Buses, another story. I'll leave the epxerts to confirm if there is any special access for the disabled.

zeppole

As Viajero's post underscores, unless people have personal experience using wheelchairs for themselves or their main traveling partners, they really have NO IDEA which cities are are appropriate for the kind of mobility limitations you are describing. You need a message board or a tour company that specializes in that kind of travel before you spend a dime on tickets or book hotels based on the responses you get here.

elaine

Even for Venice, there are good suggestions here, useful even if a wheelchair isn't part of the picture. I'd hate for anyone to rule out seeing Venice.

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/...ble_venice.htm

http://www.accessibleurope.com/acces...y/infovene.htm

Nikki

Zeppole, The OP asked about accessibility for somebody who walks with a cane and has difficulty with steps and needs rest spots, not about a wheelchair. My post above is based upon my own experiences of walking with bad knees and ankles and difficulty walking up or down many steps.

Passerine

Vienna. Mostly flat (in the historic area), plenty of cafes around for rest stops (benches too), the U-bahn stops have escalators.
Basel's pretty good overall, the trams and buses take you almost everywhere (in the newer trams, all have easy access at every door, even on the older tram lines, they always include a center car with easy access, except maybe on the number 15 line), lots of benches. But there are a few steep, narrow streets in the old town that would be inaccessible.

Viajero2

Nikki- the OP asked for the "Best Walking City for the Disabled". A person in a wheelchair is disabled, so I considered my response appropriate. She/he also further elaborated on the type of handicap, so I think your response per personal experience is very helpful as well. That said, those are not "slight" limitations ("no more than 2-3 step at any place"). I would actually consider the use of a wheelchair for this trip to further ensure better enjoyment.

zeppole

Nikki,

I stand by my response to the original poster. Fodor's is not the place to come for advice about the kind of limitations being described. Your suggestions about Roma I think could be highly misleading.