Disabled access

[misstery]

A friend of ours is confined to a wheelchair, how accessible is France with regard to shops, offices, restaurants etc. and how willing are they to help?

[Tresco]

Hi misstery.

I'm not in your area, that may not be relevant but....

I have a friend whose only independant mobility is by a wheelchair which she controls with her chin. She does have an assortment of wheelchairs for different occasions, which other people have to push, but that one is the one she prefers (obviously). I am hoping she will be able to come here sometime, so I've been on the lookout for problem areas, and i've seen plenty, enough to make me worried.

a holiday isn't the same as 'real life', for instance things can be planned, there is no likelihood of her having to go into a 'public service/official' building etc. Where I am, the museums etc she might be interested in are fine up to a point, there are ramps etc but some are very steep for her, one of us will have to push also even though she will be in her 'hot rod' chair. For someone in a manual wheelchair I just don't know. I've pushed a lot of chairs and i'm not fainthearted but

Some of the shops she would want to go in, the little curiousity shops, gifts etc, are in very old buildings, with very narrow isles, narrow doors, or one half of the door always locked. While I'm sure people here are helpful where they can be, she hates being any more the centre of attention than she is already. I mean, I wouldn't enjoy it much if I had to ask all the time for help to get in and out of a shop, or if I was aware that the design made it only possible for me to look at the goods, while others waited. Much of it depends on the individual.

I aslo need to ask if you meant anything other than this sort of thing by 'help'.

Any modern built place should have good access (restaurants attatched to big supermarkets etc), it's the old 'charming' places that are the problem

Another point is that i have hardly seen any people in wheelchairs in the town near here I think she would really love, which makes me wonder about access as well.

I suppose really the best advice I can give is for you to discuss with your friend what kind of a holiday s/he enjoys, and then scout about like I have been doing, for places that do have access. It's mostly in the planning.

If you live in UK that's not going to be so easy for you to do. I've had a year to do it so far, we are hoping she can come next spring, but then her needs are very complex.

Guides may help, but your friend will know that what is classed as 'accesible' often is not. Good luck.

 

 

 

[JayJay]

Hi both I'm a wheelchair user & France is not brilliant! People are very friendly & helpful but that's not the problem. Drop kerbs in France don't really exist so you either have to have someone with you or go for a long hike to find one. Not forgetting cobbles!!!! Although they look lovely! France is a beautiful country, unfortunately access to a lot of it from a wheelchair is difficult, there are a lot of steps as Tresco said, there are old buildings & with the best will in the world they couldn't make chair friendly. There are wheelchair ramps in some places, mainly modern or government buildings though. Again as Tresco said, supermarkets are fine & the restos & usually the shops attached. Basically, it all depends on your problem, pain, mobility etc.. It is difficult but it is improving, slowly! You could always ask for info from tourist information in the desired location. Good luck jayjay

 

 

 

[RayB]

[quote]Same here, JayJay. I can walk a bit and can handle one or two steps up only. As both you and Tresco said you just have to plan and keep your eyes open. Cote D'Armor (22) has a list of accessible hotels and restaurants. We are in (35)

[Loiseau]

There is a new "label" in France: "Tourisme et Handicap", so the idea of accessbility is beginning to take hold.
http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/fr/z2/vacances/handicap/label_national/qui_quoi.jsp
and if you keep on clicking on "les sites labellisés" you eventually get to a page where you can select an area and see what it has to offer.

I was recently at Petit-Fort-Philippe, the beach attached to the pretty town of Gravelines (59, near Dunkerque, in case you were wondering...), and it (PFP) was so wheelchair-friendly that it even has a special blue line painted along the pavements to show a suggested route round the resort, for wheelchair users!  And they have a couple of "tiralo" vehicles available from the tourist kiosk on the seafront in the summer (sort of amphibious wheelchairs, so that people can go into the water).

I didn't seriously check out access to local bars etc though, I am afraid.  I must admit that the couple of small museums that I visited on the other side of the harbour channel (in *Grand*-Fort-Philippe) would have been *impossible* for wheelchair users...

Angela

 

[RayB]

[quote]There is a new "label" in France: "Tourisme et Handicap", so the idea of accessbility is beginning to take hold. http://www.tourisme.gouv.fr/fr/z2/vacances/handicap/label_national/qui_quoi.jsp and i...[/quote]

**There is a new "label" in France: "Tourisme et Handicap", so the idea of accessbility is beginning to take hold.**

Thanks, Angela.