Disabled Travelers Access Guide Series: Accessible Travel in Madrid
Posted September 9th, 2011 in access guides
Madrid all lit up!
Photo by: Fred Fokkelman (Stock Exchange)
Hello, greetings, and welcome!
As I promised last time, this week’s post will have us visiting Spain.
We briefly saw it long, long ago in a post about the Pyrenees Mountains, a great tourist region that provides a gateway to both France and Spain.
But this will be our first time discussing access in the warm and wonderful country itself, and once we’ve hit some of the big cities, we’ll also swing by neighboring Portugal for a peek at what it has to offer.
Without further ado, let’s get on board for wheelchair access in Madrid!
Musings on Madrid by Wheelchair starts us off. This travelogue is from back in 2007, but don’t let that fool you: there’s still a lot of solid, relevant information here as well as a lot of internet resources that are still going strong. However, given that a few years have elapsed, don’t be surprised if certain issues have improved since this writing. The authors describe about 50% of the city’s Metro as inaccessible; you can get a better idea of your options with this accessible transportation guide to Metro stations in the city.
For another useful overview, check out Madrid at AccessAble, part of a much (much) longer Spain article that covers a number of major cities, including Barcelona, Puerto Lumberas, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Toledo, and Segovia. Wow! On Wheel Adventure, you can browse through a whole Madrid Travel Guide featuring transport, airport, attractions, and disabled hotel information. It even covers restaurants and nightlife, indispensable parts of any trip that I find are sadly overlooked all too often! Don’t think these are canned write-ups from some boring site, either; they’re real, personal reviews, with pictures!
When it comes to centrally located, clear, and well-organized content on accessibility around the world, AbilityTrip distinguishes itself. Its Madrid page is especially helpful for the great listing of accessible attractions and their associated websites in English. These include the fully accessible National Museum and the Royal Palace of Madrid, which also provides plenty of accessible features (note, though, that even though the royal family no longer lives here, it is frequently closed to the public for state events.)
Madrid Local Reference INFOrmation comes from AngloINFO and provides a listing of local disabled organizations, contact information to receive mobility help and benefits while staying in Madrid, and a whole bunch of important points to know about handling medical emergencies and major events in Spain. Looking for wheelchair rentals? TripAdvisor and its “Traveling with a Disability” message boards can help! Finally, for a slew of touristy stuff that doesn’t quite fit anywhere else, your best bet might be The Essential Madrid Tourist Information Guide, which is pretty comprehensive.
Next week will see us in Barcelona! Hope to see YOU there!
Si
