Spain’s Barcelona Considered One Of Europe’s Top Wheelchair-Friendly Holiday Spots

BARCELONA, on the coast of northeastern Spain, home to around 4.8 million people, is considered one of Europe’s best cities for wheelchair-friendly holidays.

The sun-soaked capital of Catalonia not only has a maritime Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm to hot summers, perfect to bask in, getting around the city by public transport is easy too.

Most Metro stations have lifts to help wheelchairs to and from the platforms. Public buses also have ramps.

Up and down Spain, you will find cosy corners, ancient ruins, cobbled streets, balconies adorned with flowers, white-washed villages and castles all reminiscent of Spain’s colourful history. Endless adventure opportunities, however the cobbled streets, despite the romantic touch it may give is a true hindrance for wheelchair users. One of the other advantages you’ll find in Barcelona.

The Gothic Quarter, or medieval old town, is pleasantly free of cobblestones. In fact, most of the city centre is flat, too, so there are no hills to battle against.

Furthermore if you do fancy getting up high for amazing views, there is the Montjuïc Cable Car which runs from Avinguda Miramar to the Montjuïc Castle and each cab is adapted for wheelchair users, plus the staff have special training to help people.

Of course, if you go to Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia, designed by Antoni Gaudi, is a must. While you can’t go up the tower of the Sagrada Familia, there are part that are accessible. For example, wheelchair users can go inside and see the most beautiful parts of the building, the cathedral even offers special accessible tours for wheelchair users.

Apart from Historic buildings and monuments, Barcelona also has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art, while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art.

There are sixty municipal parks to be found in Barcelona, twelve of which are historic, five of which are thematic (botanical), forty-five of which are urban, and six of which are forest.

The Catalonia capital also boasts to have the Barcelona beach listed as number one in a list of the top ten city beaches in the world according to National Geographic and Discovery Channel.