Easy Access Europe

Guidebook corrections:

Please note: The following corrections were submitted by readers and have not yet been confirmed by Rick. Check updates from Rick for the latest.

Though the guidebook indicates there is a map of the Metro system of Paris in the front of the book, there was not in the copy I received.

Dana in College Station, TX USA 09/07/2007

A reviewer commented that Versailles does not provide free access. This is not correct. France has a disabled card that shows medical qualification for this access. If you are from outside of the country, you need a physician's written statement of your disability. We have one that states my daughter requires a chair for long distances and a walker for close distances. The physician's prescription gets free admission for my daughter and one companion at all museums including Versaille. I've included the direct quote from Versaille before our trip:

Normaly the pushchairs are not alowed inside the chateau of Versailles but we will inform the persons at the reception, in order that they let you enter with the pushcair. When you arrive at the château, there is a priority entry near the chapel. It's the door H. The entry is free for your daughter and an other person if you have a written proof.

Susan Heck in Lauderdale By The Sea, FL USA 04/24/2007

The book was rather misleading about wheelchair availablity and free admission to Versailles for a disabled person and companion. After MUCH difficulty, we did get a wheelchair for one disabled guest, who could walk to the entrance. However, they wanted a "disabled identification card" (apparently they have something like that in France -- I kept telling them that in the US, all we ever need is a handicapped parking tag!), and NO ONE at the museum had ever heard of the free admission. The other disabled guest brought a wheelchair with her because she could not walk any long distance at all. The paving stones leading up to the entrance are NOT what Americans call "cobblestones." They have NO MORTAR and this is the problem, because the wheels get stuck in the cracks between stones. This cannot be authentic because carriage wheels would have broken. (HINT: Two people should pull the wheelchair backward, and the rider should hold on for dear life. Leaving Versailles, it is especially important that the wheelchair be led backward. The larger rear wheels are much less likely to get stuck and spill the rider!) By the way, the Metro was manageable with a wheelchair, which a little imagination. We used it exclusively all week.

Susan Collins in Buffalo, NY USA 06/09/2006

Remove statement that Hotel Jardins d'Eiffel will provide a tub stool. They didn't even know what you were talking about. We had to go to a Pharmacy and purchase one costing us $100.

eiffel

Pat Morrison in pleasant Garden, NC USA 06/03/2006

SACRE COEUR: It IS accessible. Walk around the basilica to the back. You will see a gate with an intercom box next to it. Press the intercom button. Someone will buzz you in through the gate. Go through the gate and up to the offices connected to the basilica. You can get in through the doors and the staff will escort you to the lift. Take the lift up one level and you are in a level corridor that takes you directly into the basilica with no stairs.

Phillip Myer in Altadena, CA USA 03/28/2006