Can anyone give me tips about accessible accomodations in Italy; especially Bologna & Milan?

Bobette--I recently traveled to France--Paris and LeMans, with my brother and his wheelchair. I did a lot of research, the basics of which may help you.<BR><BR>I have topped a report I wrote which gives some of the ways I found to make the trip workable. Purchase the suggested guidebook from AAA--it will list the sights and whether or not they are accessible. The one for Paris is "Essential Paris" and did the best job of any reference. Try to see if there is one for Milan and Bologna. <BR><BR>For accomodations, follow my instructions to do a search on Orbitz for accessible rooms. Finally, you may want to consider hiring a driver/guide to help in getting around. European cities are not wheelchair friendly. <BR><BR>Feel free to email me if I can help further. Buon viaggio!

"Milano Alberghi" is one multilingual guide for hotels in Milano that are accessible by disabled people, the guide was issued in 1992, and things may have changed, though. Ask for it at the following address:<BR><BR>Realizzazione: AIAS Milano<BR>Anno: maggio 1992<BR>Disponibile presso: AIAS Milano<BR>via S. Barnaba, 29 - 20122 Milano<BR>tel. (++)39-(0)2-55017564<BR><BR>Assesorato alle politiche sociali of Bologna has a map and guide for the disabled citizens that may be useful also for the tourists, ask for it at:<BR><BR>Disponibile presso: Assessorato alle Politiche Sociali<BR>via Indipendenza, 2 - 40121 Bologna

To Alice and Barb:<BR>Thank you so much for the tips, I'll follow up for sure! Anyone else out there with experience travelling Italy in a wheelchair?

Just returned from three weeks all over Italy with large group of family. Sister in law is in chair and she now says she wishes she hadn't gone. Obstructions everywhere, steep hills, steps, narrow doors, curb cuts unheard of, cobblestones, trains, buses etc. She broke down and cried a couple of times at the work it was causing the rest of the family. None of the family members tried to be resentful, but to be honest it became a source of iritation as we had to plan every moment around the logistics of getting her around. Too many times we skipped some sites because they were inaccesible and nobody wanted her to be left out, nobody could agree on who would go, who wouldn't etc., so we would just skip it altogether. She is a wonderful person and in a normal accessible environment completely independent, but Italy is about a thousand years behind everybody else when it comes to being accessible. God only knows how a vision impaired person gets around in Italy??

How do people with assorted impairment get along in italy? They just don't. My own country has been just ignoring their needs for very long, only a few years ago the cities were forced by law to start making the streets wheelchair-friendly, but most citie are still a long way bekid what 't's needed, and eventhose cities that hare relatively better equipped still aren't as weelchair friendly as they could be. For instance Milano has been adding little ramps that allow wheelchairs on the sidewalks more easily, but at the same time car are allowet to park on the sidewalks if there is no oter place available, so one might climb the sidewalk but afterwards be forced back on the street because there is no way to move around a car taht is parked on the sidewalk. Often enough there are disabled persons' organizations demosnstrating in front of the administrations (both city and national) in order to force cities as well as the government to make thing decent (I do not dare say "better"), but...