Hi, I am going to Paris in late Aug. for four days with my husb., 2 girls, and my parents. My dad has very limited mobility and uses a scooter. I am concerned about him getting around, us being %26quot;vulnerable%26quot; because of the girls and his scooter, finding a centrally located area so it%26#39;s easy for him to get around, as I heard them cabs will be reluctant to accommodate his scooter. And I%26#39;ve been thinking about going out to Reims or the Loire Valley - what do you think about renting a car? By the way, I am thinking of using EasyJet to get from London - good idea? Thank you so much for your advice!
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Paris is hot and sticky in August so make sure you get a hotel with air conditioning. There is so much to see as it is the most beautiful and historic city you can imagine. Learn a few words of french as the parisian tolerance of those who make no effort at all is zero. Don%26#39;t hire a car in Paris! The drivers are the worst in Europe bar the portuguese.
Check out lastminute.com as they have a great search engine which is easy to use and lets you put in all your criteria for hotels etc and you should get a nice central location.
If you are travelling outside Paris then a car is OK and the roads are pretty good.
We had a lovely holiday in Paris a couple of years ago, good luck with yours.
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I have brought up a few other posts about %26#39;access%26#39;, using wheelchairs, etc. I am sure you should read through them to get an idea of what Paris is like for tourists with disabilities. There are some hotel recommendations as well.
I have never flown EasyJet but have read over and over that they have strict/limited baggage allowances. Please confirm with them that they can handle the transport of the scooter before you book anything.
As far as the car rental goes, are you talking about all of you, plus dad%26#39;s scooter? Doesn%26#39;t that require a special lift/hoist (at least, my dad needs one to store his scooter in the back of his van). I think it would be very difficult to find a rental to accomodate that need. Maybe someone else has personal experience with that.
Here are those links - please read them.
(shortened but they are Tripadvisor posts)
http://linktrim.com/2c3
http://linktrim.com/2c4
http://linktrim.com/2c5
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I am going to Paris in late Aug. for four days with my husb., 2 girls, and my parents. My dad has very limited mobility and uses a scooter. I am concerned about him getting around, us being %26quot;vulnerable%26quot; because of the girls and his scooter, finding a centrally located area so it%26#39;s easy for him to get around, as I heard them cabs will be reluctant to accommodate his scooter. And I%26#39;ve been thinking about going out to Reims or the Loire Valley - what do you think about renting a car? By the way, I am thinking of using EasyJet to get from London - good idea? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Paris will NOT be the most easily accessible city for anyone with a serious personal mobility problem and yes, with few exceptions, trying to get around with a heavy, battery powered scooter awill be difficult. One Paris taxi company has begun adding more specially equipped, handicapped accessible taxis to its fleet is G7 Taxis-- http://www.taxisg7.com/ --which may be your best bet...but the number of these special taxis is extremely limited. More than likely your problem will be in splitting up your group of six(6) plucs scooter...since most Paris taxis will only really accommodate four passengers (five in a mini-van type taxi which are less common). There are more wheelchair accessible public buses in Paris than ever before but these may prove inconvenient to get to and from and not every bus on a route will have these special lift features. NO..you will be no more %26quot;..vulnerable..%26#39; because of traveling with a person with limited mobility than you would be any other time. How vulnerable have you been when you%26#39;ve traveled with your dad in the US? Inconvenienced , certainly...but not vulnerable.
You best bet with a group of your number and your special needs may be to rent a mini-van to drive yourselves out to eitherReims or the Loire chateau. But once again, handicapped accessibility will be %26#39;spotty%26#39; at best at most chateaux and caveaux.
Check out some of the previously listed web sites for tips and suggestions for limited mobility travel but bear in mind that the ADA has not been adopted in most of Europe.
If you will be staying in London for a few days prior to traveling to Paris, you might want to consider the EUROSTAR train connection from Waterloo International to Gare du Nord, which eliminates the necessity to transfer to, through and from two airports en route to Paris. Eurostar trains go directly from centercity-to-centercity. If you do decide to fly then whichever airline(s) you choose, make sure that you notify them well in advance (and then double check) of your special needs. EasyJet is a typical one-class budget carrier so expect available space and seating to be tight.
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Its always good to see where the posters are from.
Somehow I doubt that %26quot;hot and sticky%26quot; coming from someone in Ireland has any connection to what someone from Virginia would call %26quot;hot and sticky%26quot;. Virginia in the summer is a sauna.
However it is always a good idea to remind us spoiled Americans who take air conditioning for granted that much of the rest of the world doesn%26#39;t have it.
I have found it so much less interesting to travel in the summer since I have moved to Oregon. There isn%26#39;t a place on earth with more fabulous weather than we have in the summer. Every summer I swear up and down that I%26#39;m not budging out of the state.
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ANother word of advice... confirm that your hotel has an elevator...many don%26#39;t and others will not have room to accommodate the scooter, even if you were willing to leave it in the lobby, there may not be room for it thier, either... call and confirm before booking. Youhave not asked for hotel rec%26#39;s and I do not know your budget, but given your sit. I would recommend a Citadines Apart%26#39;hotel.
Visiting the chateaux of the Loire will be difficult with a scooter, but the towns and chateau gardens should be accessible (although I do remember lots of steps leading up to Blois).
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; confirm that your hotel has.....room to accommodate the scooter, even if you were willing to leave it in the lobby...%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
This is an excellent point to take into consideration and confirm. You allso need to confirm what conversion equipment and adaptors may be required to re-charge the device%26#39;s batteries. Given the frequent stop %26#39;n go nature of moving about and the higher power demands of travel over uneven pavements and surfaces, etc. It is reasonable to expect that usual battery-life will decrease significantly. It%26#39;s also worth confirming that even if the hotel you select does have an elevator, that that elevator serves all of the floors of the hotel. A few hotels that I%26#39;ve visited had elevators which either did not begin at the lobby/street level (very few--almost none--hotels will have handicap-accessible entry ramps) or the elevators did not to all the way up to the top floors. Even when some elevatorsare supposed to service all floors, there may be partial flights of stairs to navigate to get to some rooms which are technically on that floor. In selecting a hotel for those with severe physical mobility issues, it%26#39;s best to take NOTHING for granted.
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Would you consider a lightweight wheelchair instead of the scooter. You would have to push it, but, it would be easier to deal with in places where there is no access curb, you could lift the chair up, and your dad could get out and walk a few steps ?
I love Paris, but I have to say it is one of the few places I have been that seem to have very little concession for the handicapped. The streets/ sidewalks can be pot holey and they don%26#39;t have the curbs scooped out like they do back here.Never mind finding washrooms for your dad, it is hard enough for the able bodies!
Your kids won%26#39;t make you more vunerable , but I suppose if dealing with getting your dad around is very distracting, then if I was a pick pocket, I would see that opportunity.
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Thank you all so much! I am checking into evereything you suggest. You guys are invaluable!
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