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Mobility issues

I walk well on flat surfaces but cobblestones and steps (which are everywhere) will be a problem. Would appreciate recommendations for cities more suitable for a person with mobility issues. Would love to see Italian cities but Amsterdam might be better choice than places in Italy. Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

Posted by
1 posts

Hi there,
I would not recommend south Italy. Our last trip there we had a number of folks with mobility issues and the cobblestones and slick surfaces (limestone steps) made it difficult to navigate. Additionally, there are not a lot of elevators in many of the older buildings and this also limits accessibility. London does not have as many cobblestones, Vienna had parts that are not cobblestones. I think that out of the tours that we have done the Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour might be the best. Good luck!

Posted by
20265 posts

3/4th of what to see in Budapest is dead flat and cobblestone streets are very rare. But you will want to ride the trams and thats 3 high steps up. Busses run the same routes and they are 1 step up or flush with the sidewalk. Half the time restrooms are in the basement. Every single doorway is one step up. Taxis are cheap by European standards.

To be honest, this is fairly typical of a lot of locations in Europe. The key I think is in the planning.

Posted by
1072 posts

I have mobility issues and find that using trekking poles on cobblestones and steps makes a HUGE difference.

I wouldn't recommend Amsterdam as you need to be sprightly to get out of the way of the cyclists. We find Copenhagen is really easy to walk around. Also Antwerp in Belgium was good.

Posted by
20265 posts

MarkK, thank you. Very interesting. I read a bit. Do be aware that if you have a disability that the awards indicate as much about the intent and attitude of the location as it does the end result. For instance Budapest got honorable mention award in 2015, if I had to make a wild guess its because that was right after the new M4 metro line opened and while it has elevators to the stations, that wont get you through the bathroom door in any of the restaurants in town.

For those coming from the US if you are expecting anything comparable, in execution, to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) you are going to be very disappointed. The EU does have the The European Accessibility Act (EAA) but my impression is that philosophically it is very different, which explains why the results are very different.

Cities with extant historic architecture are going to be more problematic. If I had to guess where things might be better, it would be Germany where so much has been constructed or reconstructed in the last 75 years.

A few years back I was asked to plan for a visit in Budapest by a gentleman with mobility issues. One of the reasons I got asked is that designing for accessibility was a substantial part of my profession. We did it, so it can be done. But it took a lot of work.

  • Here is today’s route and we are stopping here for lunch because the food is good and because it is the only restaurant in the area with the restroom on the ground floor.
  • Instead of the M1 metro which has 27 steps down to the station, we will take the 105 bus because most of the stops are level to the sidewalk.

If anyone has accessibility issues, you can have a great trip if you do some specialized planning and to be honest, that will take some local help.

Posted by
3009 posts

Cities with extant historic architecture are going to be more problematic.

From this point of view Berlin (special webpage about accessibility) and Hamburg (details) are nearly perfect because these cities have due to high WWII deletion ratio rarely old pavement infrastructures in the centers although some of the very old and beautiful buildings still exist. Furthermore they are located in the North German Plain - one of the reasons why marathon people love running in Berlin.

Funny side story: the plan of German practical training for driving license (much more advanced than in other countries) contains "Anfahren am Berg" (starting up the hill; without rolling back or stalling the motor). In some districts they have first to drive into another district to find a suitable street.

And I agree that European countries have / had a different mindset about accessibility. It changes more and more but I agree that people from USA or Canada will experience it as a lower level to what they know.

Posted by
20265 posts

MarkK, that was my point about Germany. Not much is original, so there were opportunities for improvement.

For your link, it’s good, but it also illustrates the difference in expectations between the US and Europe in general. It identifies places that people with disabilities can access. In the US the assumption, because of the ADA, is that everything is accessible. Theoretically we dont need a list. But a useful link given the facts on the ground.

The EU accessibility rules require that government interaction be accessible. That can mean web access for what everyone else needs to go to the main office for. In the US the key word is "inclusive" which means something is only accessible if the person with the disability can do business in the same manner as everyone else. That would mean going to the same tax office (not online), entering the same door and communicating at the same counter. Then using the same public restroom on the way out. This inclusivity is not as implicit in the EU regulations. The US goes further and requires all, not just government, to provide the same access. That means every store, shop, entertainment activity and toilet, private or government. Not saying I agree with this, but thats what we have to deal with. It would be impossible in my European home town. A step further, while our busses have ramps that can be lowered by the driver, in the US the goal would be for the disabled to have access without assistance.

Again, there are work arounds in most cities. And I suspect other cities have lists like the one you posted. I dont see why, in most circumstances, a mobility disability wold be a factor with some plannng. You just need to find the contact or the information to do that planning.

Posted by
20265 posts

As for places with out rough streets/sidewalks and or cobblestones. I
hate to say it but other than big modern cities such as London, Berlin
and Paris I am not sure where to suggest.

Sometimes I wonder if there aren't more cobblestone streets today than 50 years or even 100 years ago ... in the tourist districts. We must qualify as a big city. Very few other than the Buda Castle District.

I doubt that this applies to the OP, but another idea is to hire a escort that knows the routes, language can converse at the stops to get get little extra consideration, toilet locations, etc. There are sources for ameature "guides" mostly college kids working for $10 to $25 an hour (in my city).

OP: my apologies that this went well beyond your scope. Hopefully you found some answers in it. It's a pretty important and overlooked topic that I got a bit carried away. Again, apologies.

Posted by
887 posts

Sometimes I wonder if there aren't more cobblestone streets today than 50 years or even 100 years ago ...

I do wonder if sets are getting called cobbles.