Disabled Visitors
France has no special reputation for providing facilities for disabled travellers. For people in wheelchairs, the haphazard parking habits and stepped village streets are serious obstacles, and public toilets with disabled access are rare. In the major cities and coastal resorts, however, ramps or other forms of access are gradually being added to hotels, museums and some theatres and concert halls. APF, the French paraplegic organization , which has an office in each departement , will be the most reliable source of information on accommodation with disabled access and other facilities. Public transport is certainly not wheelchair-friendly, and although many train stations now have ramps to enable wheelchair users to board and descend from carriages, at others it is still up to the guards to carry the chair. The high-speed TGVs (including Eurostar) all have places for wheelchairs in the First Class saloon coach, which you must book in advance, though no higher fee is charged; on other trains, a wheelchair symbol within the timetable denotes whether that service offers special features, and you and your companion will again be upgraded to first class with no extra charge. The Guide du Voyageur a Mobilite Reduite , available free at main train stations, details all facilities. Taxis are obliged by law to carry you and to help you into the vehicle, also to carry your guide dog if you are blind. Specialist taxi services are available in some towns: these are detailed in the Ministry of Transport and Tourism's pamphlet Guide des Transports a l'Usage des Personnes a Mobilite Reduite , available at airports, main train stations and some tourist offices. The guide also gives some indication of the accessibility of urban public transport systems, and the availability of cars for hire with hand controls. Hertz has a fleet at the airports of Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Nice which can be booked 48 hours in advance (in France tel 08.00.05.33.11). Up-to-date information about handicap accessibility, special programmes and discounts is best obtained from organizations at home before you leave or from the French disability organizations. The publication Touristes Quand Meme! , produced by the CNRH , lists facilities throughout France but is not updated regularly. Some tourist offices have information but, again, it is not always very reliable. For Paris, Access in Paris by Gordon Couch and Ben Roberts, published in Britain by Quiller Press and available from RADAR (GBP6.95), is a thorough guide to accommodation, monuments, museums, restaurants and travel to the city. The Holiday Care Service has an information sheet on accessible accommodation in France. Most of the cross-Channel ferry companies offer good facilities, though up-to-date information about access is difficult to get hold of. Eurostar , having been established in the 1990s, offers an excellent deal for wheelchair users. There are two special spaces in the first class carriages for wheelchairs, with an accompanying seat for a companion. No advance bookings are necessary, though the limited spaces might make it wise to reserve ahead of time and also to arrange the special assistance which Eurostar offers at either end. As far as airlines go, British Airways has a better-than-average record for treatment of disabled passengers, and from North America, Virgin and Air Canada come out tops in terms of disability awareness (and seating arrangements) and might be worth contacting first for any information they can provide.
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