Need Suggestions:France for Wheelchair User
 

Hi All,

My friend, who is a manual wheelchair user, and I are trying to go to Paris and Nice this summer. Does anyone have any recommendations on wheelchair accessible hotels/apartments, day trips, and or good neighborhoods to stay in?

Thank you!

Nicole

My wife (manual user) and I are considering exactly this same trip for next summer -- so sadly I can't really help much yet.

Maybe contact a service like Sage Traveling? (Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Sage; we used them for some planning of a trip to London several years back, and they were helpful. We may or may not use them again for France, remains to be seen)

I did this trip in a manual wheelchair about 9 years ago. I self planned it, no travel agency. We arrived by Eurostar from London and took a regular taxi to our hotel. I had a fold up chair, so it fit easily in the trunk.

We stayed in a hotel in the 13th Arr off the Rue do Tobliac. This area is near the University and "Asian Town", so for food its mostly fast food places and Asian restaurants. Felt really safe, even at night. There was a really nice French bakery on the corner though. We stayed at the Hôtel Le Richemont because of its proximity to a wheelchair accessible subway line and a very convenient bus line. It was also walking distance to the RER, which will take you to the outskirts of Paris, such as Versailles. The hotel had wheelchair rooms with roll-in showers. Unfortunately, the elevator to the basement breakfast room was tiny, so I had to switch to an office chair to get to breakfast. The breakfast was amazing though.

The subway/metro (Line 14) was very nice, though we did run into issues with elevators being out in a couple stations. We took a mix of bus, taxi, subway, and RER around Paris, and the bus was the easiest, but the metro was the most fun. The RER was the worst, the stations are mostly non-wheelchair friendly (at least back then) and you would have to rely on the conductor to jump out of the train and set up a portable ramp so you can get on and off. It was the best way to get to Versailles though.

We were in Paris six days and went to the Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Musée de l'Armée, and Versailles. The cobblestones at Versailles were awful. Be ready for a back realignment after visiting. My favorite museum was the Musée d'Orsay - the Van Gogh room is not to be missed! Most museums have free or half-priced tickets for people in wheelchairs. Sometimes their companions get in free too!

Although this was a while ago, feel free to ask questions.