Wheelchair accessible travel to Paris is more challenging than in many other European cities because of the old buildings in the city center and long distances separating many of the tourist attractions. For more information please visit: http://www.sagetraveling.com/Paris-Wheelchair-Accessible-Travel-Tips

1. 13 Wheelchair Accessible Travel Tips
for Paris
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2. Wheelchair accessible travel to Paris is more challenging than in
many other European cities because of the old buildings in the city
center and long distances separating many of the tourist
attractions.
The 13 Paris Accessible Travel Tips here will help you see more of the
City of Light with less effort.
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3. 1. Choose Eiffel Tower instead of Arc
de Triomphe
• Visiting the interior of the Arc de
Triomphe is only possible via a long
tunnel with many steps that running
under the Charles de Gaulle Etoile traffic
circle (shown in the photo).
• There is no elevator to reach the tunnel.
• If you want to get a good aerial view of
Paris, the Eiffel Tower is the better
choice.
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4. 2. Choose a hotel away from the train stations
• Like many cities in Europe, the Paris train stations are surrounded by
numerous hotels, and the neighborhoods around the train stations
leave a little more to be desired.
• Unless you are on a very low budget, choose a more charming
neighborhood in the Left Bank or near the Louvre.
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5. 2. Choose a hotel away from the train stations
Paris has 7 main train stations that serve different parts of
France/Europe:
• Gare du Nord (to London),
• Gare Montparnasse (to Loire Valley),
• Gare de Lyon (to the French Riviera),
• Gare de Bercy (to Italy),
• Gare de l’Est (to Switzerland),
• Gare St. Lazare (to Normandy) and
• Gare d’Austerlitz (to Spain)
View pictures of accessible Paris hotels
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6. 3. RER B from Charles de Gaulle
• If you’re looking for the cheapest accessible travel to Paris from
Charles de Gaulle airport, look no further than the RER (regional) train
(shown in the image on the right).
• It will take you from the airport directly into the center of Paris.
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7. 3. RER B from Charles de Gaulle
• When you get to the airport, ask the staff to help you onto the train
and arrange for assistance when you get off.
• When you arrive at the centrally located Châtelet-Les Halles station
take the elevator up to the street level.
• If you choose an accessible hotel within walking/rolling distance of the
Châtelet-Les Halles station, you won’t need to take a bus or taxi once
you arrive, which is a bonus.
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8. 4. Learn the bus system
• The accessible bus lines in Paris are an efficient and cheap way to get
around town.
• You’ll save money using the buses instead of handicapped accessible
Paris taxis which means that you'll have more to spend for treats like
restaurants and stores!
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9. 4. Learn the bus system
• The buses also come in handy if you are having a difficult time waving
down a taxi which becomes problematic around rush hour.
• In order to use the buses, print out a map of the accessible bus lines
as well as the exact locations of the bus stops you’ll be using before
you leave on your trip.
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10. 5. Take the bus tour on the same day you visit Notre Dame and
Sainte-Chapelle
• The accessible bus tours in Paris start and stop in front of Notre Dame
Cathedral.
• A good scheduling idea is to get on the bus tour in front of Notre
Dame, ride the entire circuit, then visit Notre Dame and the nearby
Saint-Chapelle church.
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11. 6. Go to the front of the line at the Louvre pyramid
• The lines at the Louvre Museum can be enormous, particularly in peak
tourist season.
• Wheelchair users and mobility scooter users can go to the front of the
line to ride the unique piston-like elevator down to the lobby, shown
here.
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12. 7. Ride the bus tour the whole way around
• Because only a few of the buses on the bus tour have wheelchair
ramps, you won’t be able to hop-on, hop-off.
• You’ll need to ride the full 2 hour loop, and you’ll also need to arrange
with the bus company where and when you want to meet one of the
accessible buses to get on.
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13. 8. Take the boat tour at sunset
• An accessible Seine boat tour is one of the best ways to see Paris.
• The best time is when the sun is tucking itself in for the night.
• The colors and scenery at sunset make for some of the most optimal
photo opportunities.
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14. 9. Use the alternate entrance at Sainte-Chapelle
• Although Notre Dame is far more famous, the nearby
Sainte-Chapelle is equally worth a visit.
• The only remaining building from the Capetian Palace, Sainte-Chapelle
church has magnificent stain glassed windows in the upper chapel.
• The main entrance at Sainte-Chapelle has steps, so you’ll need to use
an alternative entrance 1 block to the north on Boulevard Saint-
Michel
(500 meter route between Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle shown
here…)
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15. 10. Visit the Rodin Museum and Hotel des Invalides on the same
day
• The entrance to the Hotel des Invalides (housing the Army Museum
and Napoleon’s Tomb) and the entrance to the Rodin Museum are
separated by 500 meters of flat ground (shown in the map below).
• Visiting them back to back makes for a great day.
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16. 11. Take a taxi to Sacre Coeur
• Sacre Coeur is located on top of a
large hill in the Montmartre.
• It’s difficult to reach by accessible
bus and pushing up it in a wheelchair
would be an exhaustive effort.
• The easiest handicap accessible
travel to Paris' Sacre Coeur is by taxi.
• If you are using a wheelchair
accessible taxi to reach Versailles,
consider ending your day by having
the taxi wait for you for 45 minutes
while you visit Sacre Coeur.
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17. 12. Know a few French accessibility phrases
• At some Paris tourist attractions, you may need to communicate in
French to gain access to the accessible entrance.
• One example is the intercom at the Sacre Couer Basilica where you
need to have them buzz you in (shown in the image on the right).
• Our most useful French accessibility phrases are based on years of
traveling with a disability.
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18. 13. Use the northern leg of the Eiffel Tower
• Disabled visitors to the Eiffel Tower can reach the 2nd highest
platform by using the elevator.
• You don’t need to wait in line.
• Find one of the staff members near the exit in the northern leg of the
tower and they will escort you to the elevator.
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19. We look forward to making your accessible dream vacation a reality!
Call Us: 1-888-645-7920
Contact us at info@sagetraveling.com
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