Exploring the World’s Least Wheelchair Accessible Cities

Traveling with a disability can be stressful and hard to organize, even when it comes to choosing appropriate travel insurance. But just because you’re in a wheelchair does not mean you have to forfeit your travel ambitions. Everyone should be able to go traveling and see their dream destinations.

However, thinking about practicality, there are certain places that are difficult to navigate. Unless you put in a lot of time and effort into planning and travel either with friends or consider getting around via a hired disability car, here are some places to avoid as a solo traveler.

Venice, Italy

This Italian city is filled with archaic buildings and is home to an excess of 400 stepped bridges, meaning this destination is hard to navigate in a wheelchair. Traveling around via vaporetto boat (the city’s waterbuses), most of which have designated disabled user areas, makes things a little easier. But you will require assistance from staff, which can be difficult during peak times. It can also be hard to find accessible hotels and toilet facilities here.

Istanbul, Turkey

Filled with stairways and a distinct lack of sidewalks, Istanbul is not going to top the list of the world’s most wheelchair accessible cities any time soon. One of the major problems with this destination is that there’s a huge lack of wheelchair friendly taxis and public transport. If you do manage to get to a tourist attraction, many Istanbul Tourism historic sites lack accessible entrances.

Bruges, Belgium

While the landscape of this historic location is mostly flat, this city has undergone little structural change since the 1400s. Bruges is mainly pedestrian, but it can be difficult for wheelchair users to navigate cobbled streets. There’s little public transport here, with no metro, only a handful of bus services, and a limited supply of taxis. There are canal boats but these are largely inaccessible and impractical for wheelchair users.

Moscow, Russia

Although Moscow has seen some accessibility improvements since it controversially declined to host the Paralympics in the 1980s, the city still leaves much to be desired. The metro service has elevators, but they are far and few in between. There are many hotels that cater for a variety of disabilities, but once you leave your accommodation, there’s a general lack of ramps at shops and tourist hot spots.

The world is becoming more wheelchair accessible, unfortunately it’s just taking some destinations longer than others. But don’t let that deter you. The world is your oyster so keep rolling!