Wheelchair Holidays : Paris & Versailles

Paris & Versailles 2003

This original article covered a combined trip to both Switzerland, Paris and Versailles, but has been split into articles on Switzerland and France at the authors request. The visit to Switzerland can be read here.

I am permanently confined to a wheelchair through spinal muscular atrophy. For the purposes of travel evaluations, please bear in mind that I am lightweight, my folding manual wheelchair was narrow (55cm / 22” overall), and that we enjoy “walking” as much as possible. We generally “hit the streets” at around 09h30, and return to our accommodation after 22h00. The “access” discussed here was obviously from a wheelchair point-of-view. 

  Conversions : 1 US Dollar = 0.9 Euro (€)
1 US Dollar = 1.5 Swiss Franc (CHF)
1 mile = 1.6 kilometres (km)
1 yard = approx. 1 metre (m)

Loretta dropped her briefcase in the hallway after one particularly stressful August day in the office and said, “I need a break!”. Her tone had an air of finality to it, so I asked, “What have you done in the past that you would like to try again?” Her reply was, “I went to the Jungfrau in 1982 and it was misted in, and I was in Paris for one day in 1980 and it was freezing!”   So, armed with those pointers I fired up the trusty Internet and e-mail, and within a week had a two-week holiday wrapped up.

We landed in Zurich on a cloudy mid-September afternoon, picked up our hire car, found our hotel despite the best efforts of the one-way street signs, dropped our luggage, and hit the streets. After thirty minutes, it started drizzling and our walk changed into an early supper, but fortunately that was also the last we saw of any rain for the next nine days! 

Paris

The TGV deposited us at Gare De Lyon in Paris on a very hot Sunday afternoon, and rather than try and navigate the accessibility of the Metro we opted to catch a taxi to the hotel (€10). After depositing our luggage we hit the streets and headed just two roads down to the river Seine.

Paris was a huge, sprawling, city of over 10 million people. Most of the buildings being no more than four or five storey’s high, so sprawl it does!  With this in mind, and a questionable public transport system (access wise), we had decided to stay as close as possible to the main tourist attractions. Our apartment in the Les Halles arrondissement (district) put us just 10 minutes walk from Notre Dame, and 5 minutes from the Pompidou Centre, and 15 minutes from the Louvre Museum. We were central.

The setting sun shining on the stone face of Notre Dame was striking on that first evening and the warm weather had brought everyone out to the banks of the Seine. A large group of farmers from the La Garonne Region of France were promoting their produce along the bank, and rather than seek out a restaurant for supper we bought some freshly cooked beef on baguette’s, cheese, and red wine from the farmers. Finding a space on the river bank we ate our supper and drank our wine with the city lights twinkling all around us. What a way to start the trip!

It’s worth mentioning that on Sunday’s, from May to October, the roads running immediately next to the Seine are closed to traffic. Parisians, their skateboards, roller blades, prams, and no doubt wheelchairs take over for the day, enjoying the freedom provided to them.

The wonderful welcome that Paris had provided for us on the first evening boosted our energy levels and the next morning we tackled the Voie Triomphale (Triumphal Way) “on foot”. This route takes in the Louvre, Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and La Defense. We covered 18km in the wheelchair!

The Place de la Concorde, where the revolutionary’s guillotined 1300 people between 1793 and 1795 and now home to the Luxor obelisk, was advertised as an example of Paris’s famous traffic circles where one can watch “organised chaos”. We found it to be quite orderly, but were amazed at the traffic gymnastics on show around the Arc de Triomphe. It was an extraordinary sight, as six major roads feed traffic onto an eight lane circle with not a single traffic light, traffic policeman, and only stop lines on the road. Cars, buses, trucks and motorbikes enter, criss-cross, and leave the circle from every angle, all at varying speeds.

The Champs Elysees links the Place de la Concorde with the Arc De Triomphe via a broad avenue. Its first half was a tree lined public park, and its second half was the more well known stores and endless café’s. Sidewalk café’s throughout Paris have little doubt where their clientele’s interest lies, all the chairs face out towards the street. Some were even fixed in that position.

La Defense, the end of the Triumphal Way, stood in stark contrast to the older architecture of Paris. It was a very modern, stylish development of high-rise buildings, office blocks, shopping malls, theatres, and statues clustered around a central plaza. It’s Grande Arche, a white marble 112m high hollow cube structure, lines up in perfect symmetry with its more classical sister, the Arc de Triomphe 6km away down the Champs Elysees. For some unknown reason the Grande Arche provides a lift to its top floor, but then presents one with a 35 step staircase to the viewing platform?!  Sadly La Defense was not standing the test of time as well as the rest of the city, with broken paving and grubby surfaces.

The following day we decided to walk a loop that took in the Pompidou Centre, Place de Vognes, Musee d'Orsay and Notre Dame. The George Pompidou Centre (sometimes referred to as the “Inside Out Building” because the support structure, air conditioning, stairways and elevators were located on the outside) was part modern art museum, part exhibition hall, part restaurant. It’s 6th floor offers some of the best views of Paris you can find. Heading further East one passes through the Marais District, known for its old, narrow streets and original buildings. Every now and then one comes across a large double wooden door opening onto the pavement. A peek inside gives one some insight into the homes of Paris’s elite. Your hard earned money doesn’t buy you much in this town, with €3-million just sufficient for a very small apartment (without parking) in some areas. We saw one apartment, smaller than our livingroom, on sale for €650 000!

Place de Vognes was recognised as a example of a classical symmetrical garden courtyard, a perfect square. It makes a good spot to stop and eat a packed lunch under the trees. The Musee d’Orsay was Paris’s 19th century railway station, restored into a very modern and chic museum of impressionist and post-impressionist art. It caters for the period 1848 – 1914, with the Louvre taking care of everything before that, and the Pompidou Centre everything after.Simple. Well worth a visit. The gothic masterpice of Notre Dame (completed in 1345) was generally accessable on the ground level but for a few small steps. With its constant stream of visitors there were always a couple of willing hands if needed. The vaulted ceiling towers above one and the stained glass windows were amazing.

Our third day was given to the Jardin de Luxembourg, Eiffel Tower, and Les Invalides. Crossing the river going South were the formally laid out Jardin de Luxembourg (public gardens) with its large pond on which children sail hired model yachts.

Down the various avenues one can find people playing boccia, tennis, or kids riding donkeys. Believe it or not the Eiffel Tower (300m high) was a temporary structure, intended to be dismantled after the 1889 Exposition, and on completion, the tallest structure in the world. When it was left in place there was a public outcry as it was seen to deface the Paris skyline, yet today it was the very symbol of Paris. Wheelchairs can catch the elevator to the second viewing level, but not to the top, for good 360 degree views of the city. Les Invalides functions as a hospital, Napoleon’s tomb, and a military museum. It’s beautiful golden dome can be seen from across the city. Napoleon’s tomb, a grand but somewhat kitsch construction, was not accessable, but we roped an unsuspecting tourist into helping us carry the wheelchair up the 15 shallow stairs into the main hall. The tomb itself is one level down and out of reach (and sight) for wheelchairs.

The next day was dedicated to the Louvre Museum. For an art lover it was one of the world’s greatest gallery’s, requiring many days of visiting (they do issue a 3-day pass), but we could only allocate six or seven hours. It was home to the Mona Lisa, and the Venus De Milo, amongst others. We couldn’t help but feel that both these pieces were wasted in their present museums locations, and certainly the Venus De Milo would be far better shown off in one of the magnificent modern courtyards within the Louvre. The one thing the French do well was design museums and art galleries. They provide plenty, and we mean plenty, of areas for one to sit down, relax, and absorb the work on view. The Louvre was fully accessible by the sexiest wheelchair lift we have ever seen, a round hydraulic design that operates through the middle of the Pyramid’s spiral staircase!  A tip ; even though the Louvre may close at 6pm many of the outside courtyards and squares were open until later. On a pleasant evening buy a takeaway supper and go and sit in one of the Pyramid courtyard’s alcoves, looking across to the Eiffel Tower. It’s a popular venue for Parisians to gather in the evening and watch the sun go down and the lights go up over the city. 

The Paris Skyline.

Versailles

As a break from the hustle bustle of Paris we devoted a day to the Palace of Versailles (interestingly referred to as a “chateau”) with its rambling formal gardens. It was best reached by train, which was for the most part out-of-bounds to wheelchairs, but we were directed to catch the RER (super-metro) at Chatelet to Bibliotheque, and from there change trains for the 45 minute ride to Versailles. 

Be warned, the entrance plaza of Versailles was very large, pure cobbles, and can only be covered with assistance. Once inside the palace things get considerably better, and the gardens were “walkable”. 
 
The gilded opulence and decadence of the architecture and furnishings was something to be seen, a degree of decoration never to be seen again. Built by Louis XIV and completed in 1715 it was most well known for the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of the First World War. 

Palace of Versailles entrance plaza

Versailles Garden Walk

Out in the gardens one can visit the Grand- and Petit Trianon’s (smaller palaces) and the huge Grande Canal, a sort of 16th century super fishpond on which boats can sail!  There was an accessible toilet, elevators inside the building, and the staff were very helpful.

Otherssights to see? . . . Place Vendome with Napoleon’s statue and the Ritz Hotel, the Opera-Garnier, the imposing Grecian-styled Madelaine parish church with its 52 Corinthian columns, the gourmet food stores of Fauchon and Hediard selling a small bowl of glace’d fruit for €300 and a small pyramid of biscuits for €120 !!

An amazing seven days in one of the world’s premier capital cities. We only touched on the well known sights. Like London, it was a city one can return to again and again.

Total days in Paris                              :   7
Total distance walked in wheelchair   :   55km  (35 Miles)
Some comments on Paris . . . 

• Disabled visitors, and their immediate helper, have free entry to Paris museums.
  
• Many of the public toilets (in shopping malls, train stations, etc) now have a wheelchair accessible cubicle at the entrance (which was most often free). We saw a number of sidewalk public toilets marked for wheelchairs, but did not use any of them. Parisians seem to have a penchant for urinating in public (possibly to avoid paying to pee in the public toilets?), so the streets can be decidedly smelly, particularly on warm evenings!  Dog poo can also be a problem on the Parisian sidewalks, so watch those wheelchair wheels!
  
• Paris in general has a level terrain, with things only getting genuinely steep up towards Sacre Coeur. Here and there one finds steep streets, but generally it was an easy city to push in. Virtually all the curbs were cut. Road traffic is exceptionally busy and one should only use the designated road crossings.
  
• The level of helpfulness varied tremendously, from zero, to going out of their way. The TGV’s station and coach staff get a big thumbs down . . . the Metro and museums staff get a big thumbs up!
  
• The French like to be greeted, individually. We never encountered the traditional hostility towards English-speakers, provided one greeted them.
  
• We were given the serious “3rd degree” when applying for our French visas, with their offices demanding confirmed proof of every single nights accommodation, proof of funds, proof of health insurance, proof of employment, etc!  Yet, no customs official was anywhere to be found on entry to France, and our passports were not stamped on departure at CDG. Strange?
  
• We saw more wheelchairs in the Paris streets on day one (both power and manual) than we have seen in 16 weeks of travelling in the USA. I encountered other wheelies up the Eiffel Tower, at the Louvre, and at Versailles.

Switzerland & France Coments

Planes, Trains, Buses, Ferries, Taxis, Cars

British Airways must get a tremendous pat on the back for providing four hasslefree flights. In London, Zurich and Charles De Gaulle airports we were escorted through the buildings and given assistance with luggage.

After the lesson learned in New Zealand when we hired a car from a smaller company, only to have it break down on us, and then incur costs to get it replaced, we chose Holiday Auto (operated by Hertz) in Switzerland. We paid less than €300 for 7 days, unlimited mileage, for a manual shift Ford Focus. The driving distances in Switzerland were short, but the roads were busy and very narrow with no run-off so travel times can be longer than expected.  Petrol costs for the 800km driven amounted to CHF 76.

The Bern railway station, the departure point to Geneva and then on to France, was accessable and while the train was not roll-on there were plenty of willing hands to help. The TGV system in Geneva was another matter entirely. The first “signs” of potential problems could be sensed when we found no customs officials in place at all. In fact there appeared to be very little staff at the station in general, but lots of confused looking commuters!  We asked the station official about which coach to use for wheelchair access and were bluntly told that it was not his job, ask the conductor. We boarded the train (with great difficulty) in the coach matching our ticket, but queried it with the conductor since there was obviously no access to a toilet. He told us he would sort things out once we were under way?  At the next stop, when another passenger and her children laid claim to our seats the local conductor wanted to throw us off, and even began removing my wheelchair!  Fortunately a French speaking fellow passenger intervened and told him to stop harassing us. The journey went ahead fine from then on, but we cannot recommend the TGV.  

Within Paris one has the Metro and RER systems of underground rail. Neither were fully accessable, so they can only be used if both your departure and arrive stations were accessable, and you have no change-overs. They have modern elevators installed in some stations for wheelchair users, but they break down, thereby rendering the station instantly inaccessible. On our Versailles day trip the elevator at Bibliotique worked for the outbound journey, but was broken on our return. In a bizarre twist the elevator was also broken at Chatelet and we had to deal with Metro staff sending us off in different directions to elevators which we never found. In the end two military policemen carried me out of the underground!  It took us 55 minutes from Versailles to Chatelet, and 60 minutes to get the next 5m up to ground level!  Aahhh!, if only architects would learn that fancy technology was quite useless when it was unreliable. How much better would things be for us wheelies if they simply used good old fashioned ramps?!

Paris has a fleet of lowered floor buses that operate on the main city routes. The bus numbers were marked with the international wheelchair symbol on all of the stops where they operate. We used them on two occasions, but were unable to determine how one was supposed to pay for the ride since the wheelchair access door was halfway down the bus, and the ticket machine was at the front. On both trips the driver did not stop long enough to allow for payment. A tip ; make sure you’ve got good wheelchair brakes when riding the buses!

Taxi’s were readily available. The taxi ride from our hotel to Bern railway station was CHF 15. We used a taxi again on arrival in Paris to get from Gare De Lyon to the city centre (€8), and from our hotel to Charles De Gaulle airport on departure (€45). Many of them were spacious vehicles such as the Renault Scenic, or Citroen Picasso which helped with the luggage, wheelchair, etc.

Food   

For us, an integral part of travelling was the “fooding” experience!  On this trip however we found eating out to be very expensive (on our depreciated currency).

In Switzerland a pizza or plate of pasta will set you back CHF 16 – 19. Add meat, poultry or fish to the equation and the price goes up by another CHF 4 – 6. Our cheapest Swiss supper was CHF 18 each, and our most expensive CHF 26 each, the average being CHF 21 each (this was for one plate of food, no starters, no desserts). Expect to pay anything around CHF 4 for a cup of coffee or CHF 7 for a very small glass of wine. In Bern we discovered the Markthalle (food hall) which was home to a collection of European, Oriental and Eastern restaurants and bars. The food was excellent and the prices manageable.

In France the traditional plat du jour (plate of the day) was €6 - 8 or more depending on the arrondisement. A cup of coffee was approximately €3.50, a glass of house vin rouge (red wine) about the same. Our cheapest Paris supper was €7 each, and our most expensive €12each, the average being €10 each (one plate of food, no starters, no desserts). The “restaurants” were pricey (€30+ per head), the brasserie’s, café’s and bistrots considerably cheaper. The bistrot’s and café’s were crowded and noisy, with patrons sitting shoulder to shoulder, but they have a vibe. The more crowded they were the better they were, that’s why they’re crowded!

The French “MonoPrix” food chain proved to be an excellent option to buy baguette’s, cold meats, cheese, pate’s and wine. We then made up our own sandwiches and carried them in the wheelchair’s backpack. A packet of cold meat, pate, bread and fruit which provided the two of us with packed lunches for three days cost €15. When a street fresh produce market crosses your path try and take advantage of the opportunity to buy. 

Accommodation

Citadines Les Halles
4 rue Des Innocents, 75001 Paris
Tel : 01 40 39 26 50
Fax : 01 45 08 40 65
Website : www.citadines.com
e-mail :leshalles@citadines.com 
Room rate : € 142.00 per night (studio).

Superb location, apartment style hotel with small kitchenette. Well used, but very clean. Accessible but with reservations (rollout bed very low). Large bathroom, bath/handshower (taps tricky to reach), grab rails. Free Internet/eMail access. Probably best value-for-money disabled accommodation in Paris. Less expensive accommodation can be found on the outer ring of the city, but that would require daily commuting, which could be problematic. 

In Closing

A most enjoyable holiday. It showed us that historical Europe can be wheelchair accessible. The trip was hastily organised, and finding accessible accommodation proved to be difficult at first, but ultimately successful if one was determined and kept searching. The Swiss tourist authorities were able to provide some pointers towards accessible accommodation, the French were not able to offer much. 

Australia and New Zealand retain our highest rating for wheelchair accessable destinations, but Switzerland and Paris were up there with the best of them. Based on past tour review feedback some folks find our comments a bit forthright, but we say it the way we see it. We have repeatedly proved that traveling in a wheelchair was neither daunting, nor limiting, and hope our experiences will be of benefit to anyone who may be planning a tour. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any additional information.

Reproduced with kind permission of Hilton Purvis
P O Box 371,
Noordhoek, 7979,
South Africa.

Wheelchair Holidays : Paris & Versailles