France has no special reputation for providing facilities for disabled
travellers. For people in wheelchairs, the haphazard parking habits and
stepped village streets are serious obstacles, and public toilets with
disabled access are rare. In the major cities and coastal resorts,
however, ramps or other forms of access are gradually being added to
hotels, museums and some theatres and concert halls. APF, the French
paraplegic organization
, which has an office in each
département
, will be the most reliable source of information on accommodation with disabled access and other facilities.
Public
transport is certainly not
wheelchair-friendly, and although many train stations now have ramps to
enable wheelchair users to board and descend from carriages, at others
it is still up to the guards to carry the chair. The high-speed TGVs (including Eurostar) all have places for wheelchairs
in the First Class saloon coach, which you must book in advance, though
no higher fee is charged; on other trains, a wheelchair symbol within
the timetable denotes whether that service offers special features, and
you and your companion will again be upgraded to first class with no
extra charge. The Guide du Voyageur à Mobilité Réduite
, available free at main train stations, details all facilities.
Taxis
are obliged by law to carry you and to help you into the vehicle, also
to carry your guide dog if you are blind. Specialist taxi services are
available in some towns: these are detailed in the Ministry of
Transport and Tourism's pamphlet Guide des Transports à l'Usage des Personnes à Mobilité Réduite
, available at airports, main train stations and some tourist offices.
The guide also gives some indication of the accessibility of urban
public transport systems, and the availability of cars for hire with
hand controls. Hertz has a fleet at the airports of Paris, Lyon,
Marseille and Nice which can be booked 48 hours in advance (in France
tel 08.00.05.33.11).
Up-to-date information about handicap
accessibility, special programmes and discounts is best obtained from
organizations at home before you leave or from the French disability
organizations. The publication Touristes Quand Même!
, produced by the CNRH
, lists facilities throughout France but is not updated regularly. Some
tourist offices have information but, again, it is not always very
reliable. For Paris, Access in Paris by Gordon Couch and Ben Roberts, published
in Britain by Quiller Press and available from RADAR (£6.95), is a
thorough guide to accommodation, monuments, museums, restaurants and
travel to the city. The Holiday Care Service has an information sheet
on accessible accommodation
in France.
Most of the cross-Channel
ferry companies
offer good facilities, though up-to-date information about access is difficult to get hold of.
Eurostar
, having been established in the 1990s, offers an excellent deal for
wheelchair users. There are two special spaces in the first class
carriages for wheelchairs, with an accompanying seat for a companion.
No advance bookings are necessary, though the limited spaces might make
it wise to reserve ahead of time and also to arrange the special
assistance which Eurostar offers at either end. As far as airlines go, British Airways has a better-than-average
record for treatment of disabled passengers, and from North America,
Virgin and Air Canada come out tops in terms of disability awareness
(and seating arrangements) and might be worth contacting first for any
information they can provide.
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