From Dublin to Paris – 10 most accessible cities in Europe revealed

Discount travel website Alpharooms examined European destinations to find the most accessible cities for travelers with disabilities.  Alpharooms experts studied the attractions – including the landmarks and museums – public transport and hotels to rank the places, mostly adapted for those with limited mobility.

“Alpharooms has studied the top 15 attractions for each European city, analysing their wheelchair accessibility, whether assistance is available at the attraction, onsite parking, descriptive tours and adapted toilets to score each city” – the website says. 

The rating of the most accessible places in Europe, according to the study, is the following. Overall access – based on the ease of access for most visited attractions, restaurants and public transport – in Dublin trumps all other European cities, according to the research.  

“However, the UK capital, London, does take the coveted top spot for the number of accessible landmarks and museums, with Dublin coming in a close second. The likes of Buckingham Palace and Tower of London, surprisingly, are the most accessible attractions within the city. London scored an average of 319 points* for accessibility for attractions, compared to Dublin’s 286*. However, London lost points when it came to public transport” – Alpharooms states. 

Vienna, in particular, also has much to offer travellers with limited mobility. Many of the iconic attractions have been refurbished to ensure they are totally accessible – such as The Hofburg and Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens, dating back to the 1400s and 1700s respectively. Similarly, 95% of Vienna’s metro system is step-free, with assistance available for anyone with reduced mobility.

Alpharooms discovered that the iconic landmarks and museums in Prague are the least accessible of the most visited cities in Europe. Many attractions do not offer wheelchair access and all but one did not have onsite parking or nearby for disabled visitors.

In terms of public transport, Dublin, Vienna and Barcelona top the leaderboard. The Dublin Luas system is completely accessible for all users. Unfortunately, however, the British capital, London, ranked second to last for public transport – surprising due to the number of accessible attractions within the city.
While the Paris Metro is yet to reach the standards of Dublin’s Luas transport system, Vienna and Barcelona have both been paving the way for many other European destinations – coming in at number two and three respectively.

Vienna has regularly been lauded for its accessibility, with 95% of the U-bahn and S-bahn stations completely accessible. It’s little wonder that Vienna has made its way into the top 10 most visited cities of the past year.

Barcelona places third in overall accessibility for public transport, with 91% of metro stations available to use for all passengers. Unfortunately, however, the accessibility of Barcelona’s attractions are second worst, only to Prague. The historical landmarks, such as La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, are yet to be updated.

Paris is a notable destination that has not prioritised accessibility as much as other European cities. France’s capital city comes in last place for accessible public transport, with only 22% of stations (65 out of 302) completely accessible to all.

Despite this, the Paris Metro should be one of the easiest European metro stations to upgrade according to developers. The metro stations are, on average, around six metres underground – compared to the likes of London, which is 25 metres underground.

London might be the most visited European city of the past year (according to Euromonitor International), but the accessibility of the underground and overground is yet to match up to its status. London, surprisingly, placed second to last for accessible public transport – narrowly beating Paris Metro.

Alpharooms has discovered that only 29% of the London Underground stations offer step-free access for users, with only 52% of stations also accessible on the London Overground. In comparison, Dublin’s extensive Luas tram system is completely accessible.

When analysing the top five hotels in each European city, Alpharooms discovered that both London, Berlin and Dublin top the leaderboard for accessible hotels. London comes in first with 28% of hotel rooms in the top five hotels (according to Tripadvisor) completely accessible for all, with Berlin second (27%), Milan third (19%) and Dublin fourth with 11%.

Both Vienna and Barcelona offer a number of accessible rooms (10% respectively), paired alongside their public transport systems that are some of the best in Europe.

However, according to the research, some of the cities that offer the greatest transport and attractions, do not boast accessible beaches.

Surprisingly, Poland offers more completely accessible beaches in Europe than anywhere else. There are 20 beaches in the country that offer access to the beach and water for people in wheelchairs, as well as access to the water for those that are visually impaired.

Second in line for the title of most accessible beaches is Spain, offering 12 sandy shores that are completely accessible to all users. Spain also boasts some of the greatest public transport for those requiring assistance, with Barcelona rounding up our top three for accessibility on the metro.

Italy places third for the most accessible beaches, with 11 available for those that have limited mobility and are visually impaired.

The UK, however, lags behind its European cousins, only providing four beaches that are totally accessible, located in the South: Porthtowan, Sandy Bay, Bournemouth, Southbourne Beach and Margate Main Sands.