PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 17

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

At Centre Pompidou, people with disabilities who cannot walk stairs must journey very long distances to reach one elevator that only reaches the main, first and basement floors. 

Another elevator, a very long stroll away, serves the upper floor galleries 5 and 6.  

On the opposite side of the more than one million square foot building, elevators reach only galleries 3 and 4.

The idea of forcing folks to go on tour of the building to reach elevators might have seemed cool to the architects.

Or maybe they were trying to promote fitness.

But it is a disaster for folks who push their own wheelchairs, are slow walkers, have respiratory issues or just plain are pushing 60 husbands pushing their wife's manual wheelchair all over creation -- not to see world class art -- but to just go from one floor to the other.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 16

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

The views are worth the price of admission to the Centre Pompidou and can be had without buying lunch, dinner or drinks from Georges.

There are stunning vistas from any number of outdoor plazas on the gallery levels.  

While the main system of transport is through see through glass tubed escalators, all of the open air observations points are accessible via elevator.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower to the southwest and Sacre Coeur atop Montmartre to the north is breathtaking.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 14

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

Though the Louvre is arguably the most famous museum on earth, the D'Orsay is a powerhouse since it opened in the late 20th century and Paris is filled with dozens of top drawer museums...

If I had just once half day to spend indoors, I most likely would suggest the Centre Pompidou.

While considered a non-contextual affront to the neighborhood, and all of central Paris by many, I love the modern architecture and the theory behind it: that visitors see all the mechanicals on the outside.

This not only creates breathtaking interior spaces free from obstructions, but it also does a great deal of teaching about architecture and engineering.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 10

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

The Louvre Museum has made great strides in wheelchair access.

It is true that wheelchair using visitors must use a dozen or more elevators just to get around one main wing of the old palace.

But docents are great about pointing out the lifts and they seem to be well-maintained.

Great strides have been made for access to the Mona Lisa.

It's temporary display room features a large area in front of the roped off crowd -- for disabled visitors to get an unobstructed view of La Giaconda.

Here, Heidi Johnson-Wright checks out her direct-view shot of the fabled Da Vinci painting.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 9

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

Passage du Grand Cerf in the 1st arrondissement, very close to the great eating street Rue Montorguiel.

Abandoned for nearly a century, it was restored to its former glory a few years ago and gets our vote for the most beautiful Parisian arcade.

It's off the usual tourist track and home to a host of tempting shops, including the artisanal jewelry boutique, Satellite.

We could not find an accessible restroom within the building.

Also, the side closer to Montorguiel is a level entrance, while the other end has a few steps to negotiated.

Otherwise, the main walkway is bright, beautiful and 100 percent barrier-free.

Small shops are tight for wheeling through, but not impossible.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 6

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

Les Halles, the market stands that served as Paris’ belly for centuries, are gone.

Rue Montorgueil lives on.

While Paris is famed for the temporary food markets that usually set up twice per week in various neighborhoods – Marches Bastille and Daumensnil are fine examples – Rue Montorgueil is a gourmet fresh and prepared food marche the opens every day in permanent quarters.

Americans used to drive through fast food and overly processed items at the grocer will weep at the amount of organic produce, fabled French fromages, chocolates, pastries, wine shops and more.

Wheelchair access is not perfect, but there are a decent amount of curb ramps and the majority of shops and restaurants can be entered on level ground.

The main street has limited vehicular access, so many folks walk and roll along it rather than the narrow, crowded sidewalks.

Most of the side alleys have hip new restaurant by young chefs while the main drag tends to have more stayed and steady bistrots, brasseries and the like.

Because the buildings are old, finding a restroom that isn’t down a long flight of stairs, or sometimes up several steps, is a challenge for wheelers.

Thankfully, some places without accessible restrooms have deals with neighboring properties that have main floor, zero threshold, generally accessible restrooms.

If worse comes to worse, roll into Paul – a chain but respected boulangerie-pastisserie – has a great family restroom, a level entrance and a front counter staff that will buzz you into the accessible restroom whether you buy a baguette and croissant or not.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 5

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

Institut du Monde Arabe is worth visiting for what’s outside and on top of it as much as what’s inside.

The large rooftop terrace provides stunning vistas of Paris landmarks – including Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and Centre Pompidou.

Taking in fresh air, free of the endless cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust that permeates street level Paris, is worth the price of admission.

The modernist building features at least a half dozen large, modern elevators – a great feature for visitors who uses wheelchairs.

Unlike older museums in Paris, where the lifts are hidden away in corners, the elevator core is logically and usefully in the center of the building.

The Arab World Institute features permanent and visiting exhibits, a huge gift shop/book store with premium items, a rooftop celebrity-run restaurant and Arab geometric pattern-inspired modern architecture by star designer Jean Nouvel.

“From an urban point of view the Institute is a hinge between two cultures and two histories. If the south side of the building, with its motorized diaphragms, is a contemporary expression of eastern culture, the north side is a literal mirror of western culture: images of the Parisian cityscape across the Seine are enamelled on the exterior glass like chemicals over a photographic plate. These patterns of lines and markings on the same façade are an echo of contemporary art.” –Jean Nouvel.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 4

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

Paris is filled with famous final resting places:

The underground, mystifying Catacombs

Pere Lechaise – covering more than 100 acres and filled with unforgettable personalities from Oscar Wilde to Jim Morrison.

Montmartre, with some celebrity tombs and well, the charm of Montmartre.

But for people with disabilities, Montparnasse is the place to be.

The Catacombs, down hundreds of steps; Pere Lechaise, with harsh cobblestones to roll over and some hills; and Montmartre, one of the hilliest places in the City of Light.

Montparnasse is paved, most of it is on quite level ground and it even has a fully-accessible restroom at the main entrance.

A laminated, borrow and return large map leads you to all the famous interred here.

Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, Porforio Diaz, Serge Gainsbourg, Man Ray, Susan Sontag and Tristan Tzara provide plenty of star power resting in peace.

Paris’ second largest cemetery also has the only moulin (mill) left of 30 that used to stand on the farming plain of Montrouge.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 3

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

The Musee D'Orsay is another world class museum in a re-purposed building.

The artwork of famed Impressionists and others is displayed in a grand Beaux Arts former rail station.

Like the Louvre, elevators are used to transport people with disabilities to the various galleries.

Also like the Louvre, and all other state-operated museums, admission is free for a disabled visitor and one able bodied companion.

Proof is required – a European Union “disabled person” card is often mentioned.

But once they saw that Heidi, pictured above and below by the grand clock in the Orsay, uses a wheelchair for mobility – we were not hassled about official documentation of her right to free admission.

PARIS BY WHEELCHAIR -- Part 1

PROGRESS MADE, BUT MANY CHALLENGES REMAIN

The Coulée verte René-Dumont or Promenade plantée or the Coulée verte is a 4.7 km elevated linear park built on top of obsolete railway infrastructure in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

It provides beautiful views and a green garden respite from the bustling city.

It is smooth and paved with plenty of space for wheelchair users to maneuver around.

It is accessible via level ground at about its midpoint between Bastille and Bois Vincennes.

There are multiple elevators, but they have been broken for years.

To address access for all, the city MUST keep the elevators in good repair.

Otherwise, disabled visitors must backtrack for more than a mile – while all others can take the stairs down to Bastille and other interest points.

COULÉE VERTE RENÉ-DUMONT -- PROMENADE PLANTEE

PARIS, FRANCE

Created in 1988 by Philippe Mathieux and Jacques Vergely on the former railway line, which linked Place de la Bastille to Varenne-Saint-Maur from 1859.

The Promenade Plantée mixes areas of wild vegetation that has sprung up alongside the railway line with more modern landscaped areas.

It begins behind the Bastille opera house and runs above avenue Daumesnil to the Jardin de Reuilly: it is the famous Viaduc des Arts.

The Allée Vivaldi then comprises the shopping part of the walkway.

Then, it continues through tunnels and trenches and ends at Porte Dorée and the Bois de Vincennes.

An extraordinary journey along 4.5 km planted with many types of lime and hazelnut trees, climbing plants, rosebushes and other plants.

The walk gives you the opportunity to admire various remarkable views of the most modern and typical parts of the 12th arrondissement.

--parisinfo.com