Paris perhaps. Mobility issues and scared of even thinking about it.......

[poppyknot]

DH has suddenly suggested that we might go to Paris in the October break. An out of the blue holiday would have been very exciting (never done one before) but now I can only get around with difficulty the whole prospect scare me witless...........

Has anyone 'done' Paris or another big unfamiliar city with a mobility difficulties or a wheelchair?

Hi poppy, yes we "did" Paris last year with my daughter in a wheelchair. Didn't even bother with metro - used "bateaubus" which are boats with stops every so often on the river... although a few do have steps down to the landing area, so watch out for that. There are fast-track queues at the Eiffel Tower for disabled guests, and in most museums, wheelchair user and Carer (ie person pushing) gets in free or reduced price. Eurostar wheelchair service was brilliant.
I have just been to Venice(without my dd) - really difficult as steps everywhere; Florence - do-able but a lot of the pavements are quite narrow, Sienna - cobbles, steep slopes and steps!; and Pisa - probably quite doable. Also I have been to Amsterdam with a wheelchair friend, and that again was do-able - using taxis to get around, although there were a couple of sights we couldn't access as they were upstairs.
Good luck with your trip!

Thanks for the info about fast track queue at the Eiffel Tower for disabled visitors, I had not heard about that.
You can buy tickets for the ET online on their website ( to the 2nd floor or summit ) to avoid a queue.

Apart from the Hop On / Off Batobus which stops near main sights on a continual loop all day, you can also use HOHO buses, which are double deckers with open top. These also stop at the main sights.
Tour boats on the Seine with commentary in English have a one hour round trip, starting from the quay near the Eiffel Tower, or at Pont Neuf near Notre Dame. You just catch the next boat and pay at the time. You don't have to pre book.

There is no lift up to the Towers of Notre Dame, but there is one for Arc De Triomphe, and a very fast one to the top of Montparnasse Tower for great views.

Paris is more accessable for wheelchairs than other cities/ towns with narrow cobbled streets. Notre Dame area / Ile Saint Louis is a very nice and central part of Paris to stay in.

My mother used a wheelchair as she could not walk very far, and we had a lovely holiday at Lake Garda, as she could manage to walk on/ off the boats and fast hydrofoil gangplanks, so we could visit many of the small towns around the lake, including going up in the cable car at Malcesine.
We stayed in a lovely hotel in Sirmione, where the staff were wonderful, with fab views of the lake and a lovely pool. It was not far pushing her in the wheelchair to catch the boats each day, and Sirmione itself is very pretty.
We stayed in the Hotel Continental. ( I posted a review and photos on Trip Advisor ).

People on the Trip Advisor Paris forum can help with advice for people with disabilities, so worth having a look there.

This is the batobus website.

www.batobus.com/english/

Thanks for these.

We talked about a more sensible idea of a non-hurried, well-planned trip to Paris, maybe at Easter (April in Paris?). And would be able to include the Eurostar (need an extra day for this as coming down from Scotland). Can now look forward to investigating and planning (all part of the fun)

Saw this in Active convos - had put the Paris idea to the back of my mind (cf in the 'proper' holiday thread!).

With this advice maybe Paris is possible! Thanks all.

CDG Roissy is the airport.
CDG Etoile is the metro station by Arc De Triomphe.
If you need any info or advice about Disneyland, posters on the TA Disneyland Paris forum can help you.