Limited mobility traveler in Paris and London

While I have no experience or recommendations regarding travel for someone with impaired mobility, I do have a strong recommendation regarding your reference book. 2004 was a long time ago, and if that's the Rick Steves book you are using, things will have changed in the interim. Given the fact that you will be spending thousands of dollars on your trip, you need to spend a few more and get an updated resource.

For London, check out the Black Taxi Tours. The guides are actual London cabbies that pass a rigorous course in the history of the town and its sights and are safety certified. They pick you up right at your door and right on time. The cabs are easy to get in and out of. The tour will be customized to your interests. We had two cabs for the eight of us and they stuck right together-no easy feat in London traffic. The driver was funny, informative and very courteous. In our cab we had a ride along cabbie in training for the tours and he actually could add a few things the driver didn't know! The driver was very complimentary to his "student" (they were both men probably in their 50's) and it was so cute listening to them trade stories back and forth. It was money well spent and a super way to see the town if you have limited time.

Good to know there was an Easy Access book. Maybe a more updated one doesn't exist? It's been hard for me to find information on the topic of travel accessibility.

This site has a GREAT searchable data base for accessible locations in the UK, I bet THEy would know about Paris :)
http://www.disabledgo.com/

Good luck, have fun!
-Alison

Thanks Alison and Kat!

We've booked a black taxi tour in London and are using the disabledgo website.

Patricia, Sadly there isn't a newer book. There are a few websites. Rick Steves' 2004 edition (there was an earlier edition also) is still rated as the best print resource on TripAdvisor and Amazon. It is out of print but can be had for about $3. Hopefully Mr. Steves will update it for the aging boomers.

I have had very good luck and responsiveness from hoteliers regarding accessible room reservations, and used some of Mr. Steve's recommendations in choosing hotels. We will be packing the book for restaurants too.

Amy

For anyone else reading this, Rick has made the book available for free download: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/easy-access-europe

Here are some earlier threads on the subject, which in turn have some links to more updated information:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-west/paris-wheelchair-accessible-apartment

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/wheelchair-accessibility-paris-france

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/renting-a-wheelchair-in-paris

Thank you Harold! I didn't know there was a 2006 edition and will download to the ipad.

I also forgot to mention that Expedia now has an "accessibility" feature that one can use to filter hotel searches.

Thank you for the help!

Amy