accessible travel to Venice & Verona + likely Florence & Rome

Europe is increasingly aware about access but ancient roads and streets and stairs make complete accommodation difficult.
Venice being a series of islands makes it particularly difficult despite being completely flat.

Here are some resources about access Venice:
https://www.veneziaunica.it/en/content/accessible-venice
https://blog.wheeltheworld.com/wheelchair-accessible-venice-italy/
https://www.introducingvenice.com/traveling-with-a-disability
https://www.sagetraveling.com/Venice-Disabled-Access
And other locations you mentioned:
https://www.sagetraveling.com/florence-accessible-travel

My dad was in a wheelchair for years so I have some frame of reference but we never braved Europe so I am extrapolating some here. Early on he used the wheelchair to avoid easy fatigue so he was able to stand and walk up short stairs or through an inaccessible doorway which opens up a lot of places that might otherwise have been off limits. If she can stand and walk to cross any bridges you might run into Venice should be pretty accessible but as you can see from the maps much of the city is accessible anyway.

It sounds like you considered instead getting wheelchairs locally and saving yourself the transportation issues of trying to take one. Check the forum since this has been discussed and I believe there was a reference to Florence providing free wheelchairs for all visitors to check out and return.

Regionale trains are often older and have stairs up into the trains but I would be surprised if Tenitalia didn't offer a list of stations and trains to help sort out the possibilities. The newer and more modernized fast trains are more accessible. On my last trip I did see several people making use of the Sale Blu service offered by the train system for assistance to the platform and onto the trains.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/info_contacts/disabled_passengers.html
https://www.fsitaliane.it/content/fsitaliane/en/sustainability/people/social-commitment/accessibility.html
https://www.italiarail.com/station-services/are-there-services-travelers-disabilities

I have spent a fair bit of time in Verona and the core is flat and largely pedestrian with few cars during the day. That being said there are always the issue of cobblestones and ancient steps up into various places. But if your lodgings are accesible I think Verona is probably a good option. Verona is a very chic, arty city with a very cafe culture feel with tons of restaurants with outside dining where re-arranging a table to accommodate guests would not be a big deal at all.

I will also say that everywhere I have been in Italy there is great respect for people with limited disability. Even just having a cane people will voluntarily vacate the "accessible" seats on buses and line dividers that make your walk longer are often removed and lines are avoided without asking. Even on the tourist packed vaporetto to Murano and Burano an instagram couple made a beeline for the last two open seats together - because they were reserved for elderly and mobility impaired - and they were quickly shamed out of those seats and had to stand for the rest of the trip.

Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod

Also have MS and have used SalaBlu several times. Best to actually visit the SalaBle office at the train stations to have them arrange for the assistance you need. I now use their lift to get on and off the trains to avoid the steep stairs. I now travel with a wheelchair for distances and a walker for short walks and exercise. Let me know if I can help in anyway.

Thank you Becky and Todd! Lots of helpful ideas! Hope others can weigh in too.

I have found Bologna to be a fairly flat and accessible city. The Medieval historic area is very scenic and the miles of porticos are wonderful if it rains.be sure an bring your wife’s diacility card. My husband and I have been admitted quickly and free to all national museums and sites if I have my wheelchair or walker.know that many apartment that have elevators often have 3 to 10 steps before the elevator. I always check with the lodging to know the situation. I feel blessed that I can do some steps with railings and that I have a healthy spouse who can lug my equipment as needed.

Thank you Becky, I like the Bologna idea a lot. And the rec to bring her handicap card for some spiffs. Its a tough card to be delt but its good at least we get some considerations. You mentioned using a wheel-chair in Europe which we have not used other than the one time she fell a few yrs back and had to have her hip replaced. Did you find the chair more-easy in some ways than a scooter?

Best
Craig

We took a folding wheelchair for years. We now travel with a motorized wheelchair that weighs about 70 pounds total. We gate check it at the enterance to all airplanes. Do you already have a scooter? If so, I would check with your airline about any possible weight restrictions and how they deal with scooters. One of the things I like about having a motorized device is that I can assist with carrying a ack that fits on the back. Wheelchairs and scooters are challenging on cobblestones, but at times I actually drive down a paved street.

I'm concerned about how you will handle the bridges in Venice. Figure the little ones will have at least 8 steps up and 8 steps down. The (few) larger bridges across the Grand Canal are more like 40 steps up and 40 steps down. There are a few bridges with ramps, but not many. You'd need to select your lodging very carefully with a view to how you could get to the specific sights you want to see. It would be important to have access to a vaporetto stop that didn't require you to cross a bunch of bridges.

It depends on the water level, but I found I was usually stepping down onto the vaporetto and then up when I reached my destination. I'm not sure exactly how one manages a wheelchair, motorized or not, but I assume there is a way. I'd do some Googling for photos or videos to get a good idea of what you might be facing. I've traveled widely in Europe, and I haven't been anywhere that I'd expect to be as challenging as Venice. That doesn't make it impossible, but I think it needs careful planning.

If getting on and off of a vaporetto is doable, there are several places in Venice that are flatter and better paved than quite a few places in Florence or Rome. The via Garibaldi in the Castello district is a filled-in canal and is wide and lined with places to eat. The area to the east where the park is, is also easy.

Thank you acraven & nancys8 for info on getting Nita around & districts that may work best. One big advantage we have is having both adult son Joe & I in our travel group means that we can lift the mobility scooter up and carry it over the bridge(s). Nita is decent on most steps as long as I'm holding her hand. OTOH, I haven't tested her on doing multiple stair flights on the same day as we hit bridges along the way. I remember most bridges only have a small number of steps on each side of the canal except the major bridges. Right now she good on our in-home carpeted stairs on her own coming down but I almost always help her get back up the steps.

Her single biggest challenge is that she cannot walk safely in any open spaces with-out a ready handhold like a counter or railing every step of the way. I cannot walk down the street with her and count on my holding her hand will prevent her from tripping & falling. So, the scooter has to be the answer, or we can't go.

I need to get a hold of some of the links and the mobility scooter rental places to discuss how it works in Venice these days. We were last in Venice & Italy in 2016 when she was still walking decently.

I'm excited that it was her idea to look into it as she previously written off Europe. in the last few years.

OK, that sounds a lot more encouraging, and you've been to Venice before, so you are aware of the potential issues. I think you'll find Venice considerably more crowded now than it was in 2015 if you're traveling the same month. It will be important to find lodging that doesn't require you to navigate a bunch of very narrow streets. I'd also try to avoid places along the normal walking route from the train station to San Marco and places within a few blocks of San Marco. Those areas are just packed with people, which could make them more challenging.