Planning a trip for Italy. Still about a year away, but I just want to be as prepared as possible. I plan on visiting Venice, short stop in Modena/Maranello, Florence and Rome. The idea is to travel on train once in the country. I am in a wheelchair, so just trying to get feedback/advice/thoughts on all and an accessibility/accommodations. This includes access to attractions, access in public in all cities, train, hotels, etc. Again, all and any information is appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11333 posts
Welcome to the Forum!
You’ll find much of interest in Rick’s various articles and tips. Have you seen this one yet? https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/travelers-with-disabilities
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
This may give you info on all the items you listed plus some you may not have thought of yet.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15187 posts
Below there info on travel on trains for passengers with disabilities.
It’s the official train company website.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase/info_contacts/disabled_passengers.html
Posted by
A tiny island in Puget Sound WA, USA
166 posts
Hi jesp,
I've been to Venice twice and Rome & Florence once with my mom who's in a wheelchair and has to have one of us push her. I found this map that really helped. http://www.veneziaunica.it/it/content/venezia-accessibile-rolling-venice
It shows you where you can get on & off the vaporetto and once off how far you can go until you get to a bridge. Our experience has been that the vaporetto staff will help with the chair, sometimes they would not let me push and took over (mom was nervous about this at first), sometimes they just helped guide us on or helped with lifting the chair when the gap from dock to boat deck was significant. Because of the tides the dock & boat deck don't always line up.
Finding truly accessible accommodation was our biggest challenge since every person's ability is different. We had to email/talk to each hotel's staff about what we needed in terms of turning radius in a bathroom, etc. but we worked it all out and had an amazing time. The key for us was realizing we would not be able to go everywhere and we would just enjoy as much as we could see. I've read that if you contact the train company prior to your journey (I think 24 hours ahead is what I saw), they will help you get aboard the train. We never did this though. We flew to Rome, got in a taxi and had them drop us at our hotel. Then we rented a car and toured Tuscany, finishing in Venice. Florence is pretty flat, we had no trouble there. The core even has some cut out curb corners if I remember right.
In Rome the uneven cobbles were rough on my mom but she is a trooper and just bounced along. There is a lot you can see. The staff/guards at the Vatican Museum let us in a few minutes ahead of opening time and escorted us through some special gates/doors to help us get around. They were fantastic. Same in St. Peter's Basilica.
If you'd like to send me a private message I would be glad to share some of the other resources I found helpful. You will have a fantastic time! Buon viaggio.