PARIS – THE MOST ROMANTIC CITY IN… MY HEART

GENERAL NOTES:

Nearly all the BUSES are ACCESSIBLE in Paris, so we (I on my mobility scooter and with my daughter on my knees) had no problems with them. There is information on accessible buses on every bus stop.

I’ve heard they don’t allow MOBILITY SCOOTERS. Fortunately, they do ALLOW them)))  

Many metro stations are accessible via elevators. There, you need to find an assistant in the cabin with this sign to help you with a mobile ramp to the train. However, buses are much more convenient and easier, I should say.    

All the STATE MUSEUMS and OTHER STATE ATTRACTIONS are FREE for disabled people. You don’t even need to get a free ticket at the ticket office. You just need to have your disability card to show it at the entrance just in case; in reality nobody asked me to show it ;-).  

We STAYED AT THE OPERA DISTRICT. It is near the Paris-Nord Terminus Station (Gare du Nord), so you can roll to your hotel on your own or take a bus from this station. This area is quite cheap and neat, and has a great public transport communication. It is rather flat, in contrast to the nearest Montmartre district, affordable too, authentic (which is great))), but hilly, cobblestoned, and with poorer public transport communication.

We stayed at the Hotel Opera Lafayette. It is great for price and location. But it is good for those who use crutches, rather than wheelchairs: it has no stairs, but a passage to the ground floor rooms is very narrow + the bathroom is tiny and inaccessible.  

Main sights:

• LA DEFENSE DISTRICT

• SEPHORA boutique on CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES (selling French perfumes, cosmetics, etc.)

• THE TROCADÉRO GARDENS

• THE EIFFEL TOWER

• THE LOUVRE MUSEUM

• THE BRIDGE OF ARTS

• NOTRE DAME DE PARIS CATHEDRAL

• ROGER LA GRENOUILLE (famous for serving FROG’S LEGS)

• SACRE COEUR BASILICA

• “A MAN PASSING THROUGH THE WALL”

• THE “I LOVE YOU” WALL

• MOULIN ROUGE.

Day 1:

The first day we took the bus to LA DEFENSE – Europe’s largest business district containing the skyscrapers and a beautiful square with art installations.

The square is above the ground accessible via an elevator. Here you can see:

• the Grand Arch,

• fountains,

• art installations:

• “Two Fantastic Personages,”

• “Red Spider,”

• “the Giant Thumb (Le Pouce de Cesar)”.

Then we got down by the elevator and took a bus to SEPHORA boutique on CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES. On the way there, we saw a monumental Triumphal Arch.

At Sephora we bought some French perfumes. There the sellers give various small presents and a VAT refund. You need your passport to get it.

From there you can either roll (nearly 15-20min.) or take a bus to THE TROCADÉRO GARDENS from which you can enjoy an exciting view of the Eiffel Tower.

THE EIFFEL TOWER is just a 5min. scooter ride from the Trocadéro Gardens. There is an elevator to the middle of the Tower for wheelers.

Day 2:

We took a bus to get to THE LOUVRE MUSEUM, accessible via an elevator.

There we focused on:

• Mona Lisa (the most crowded room in the museum, but the disabled are allowed to come up very close to the masterpiece),

• Venus de Milo,

• Winged Victory of Samothrace,

• Napoleon III apartments,

• Great Sphinx of Tanis,

• Ramses II.

Next, we rolled to THE BRIDGE OF ARTS to enjoy the views. This bridge was overloaded with love padlocks:

However, now the padlocks are allowed on the streetlights only:

Our next stop was NOTRE DAME DE PARIS CATHEDRAL.

The roof of the cathedral is inaccessible (there are many stairs with no elevator). However, we managed to see this beautiful view on the right side of the building ;-):

We ended up our day with ROGER LA GRENOUILLE – a restaurant in the Latin Quarter famous for serving FROG’S LEGS. Yummy! This restaurant is just 15-20min. roll from Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral.

Roger La Grenouille is tiny and has no ramp. So we asked to get our frog’s legs packed and rolled to the Louvre Museum square to enjoy our meal and the atmosphere.

Day 3:

This day was devoted to the Montmartre district.

First, we took a bus to THE MONTMARTRE FUNICULAR (quite a hilly way up, so we decided not to ride a scooter).

The funicular took us to the hill where we got to SACRE COEUR BASILICA.

As you reach the main entrance, you can see a wonderful view of the whole city.

There is a wheelchair accessible entrance with an elevator on the rear side of the basilica. You need to go round the left corner of the basilica and go along its wall on your right before you see the gate with the access button on your right:

You need to push the button and ask for a wheelchair assistance. Then enter the gate, the accessible entrance will be on your left. There is an elevator inside, so you can see the interior.

There you can buy tourism tokens (resembling coins) with the pictures of the Basilica, the Pope, Paris, etc. 2 Euro each.

Unfortunately, there is no elevator to the Tower of Sacre Coeur Basilica, so we failed to get there (I took this photo from the Internet ☹).

Then, we ate a pizza (In fact, the area around the Basilica is like one big café! I’ve never seen so much stuff in one pizza! MMMMMM-the tastiest pizza I’ve ever eaten!) and rolled down the hill to feel a true spirit of the city (about 2 kilometers, cobblestones mostly).

On the route we saw:

• “A MAN PASSING THROUGH THE WALL,”

• THE “I LOVE YOU” WALL,

• MOULIN ROUGE. My daughter felt like Merilyn Monroe on this stage with the air coming off the ground ;-).

This was our last day in Paris, so we decided to roll along Montmartre (with no cobblestones from Moulin Rouge) to our hotel to enjoy the atmosphere of the night city.

I loved Paris!!! I’m sure, you’ll fall in love with it too)))

Sincerely yours,

Maryna Shevchenko.