Accessible Travel To Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands and is one of the largest cities in Europe. It has unbelievably beautiful canals and impressive architecture along with friendly people and great shopping.

Something or the other is available to match the tastes of different travelers and hence it is one of the major tourist destinations in the world. There are number of ways to reach this city, which is also known as the Sex and Drug capital of the world.

The best part is that most of the city is designed in such a way so as to be friendly to disabled people or those who use wheelchairs. However, there are a number of historical buildings where it is neither appropriate nor practical to reconfigure the interiors for complete access.

Airports and Train stations

Any person first reaches either the airport or the train station when they visit a city. In Amsterdam, all the airports and stations have easy access and a person with a wheel chair can easily come and go, usually without any help. Lifts are also provided to go from one level to another with relative ease.

Hotels

Once you reach the hotel, the staff is friendly and helpful and even if there are a couple of steps at the entrance, rest assured as someone will be there to help you across. Also, when you are inside, most of the modern hotels are disabled friendly.

Sightseeing

A number of places of tourist interest like the Van Gogh Museum have a disabled access next to the main entrance. It is a kind of a self operated lift that raises a wheelchair up to the level of entrance near the ticket office. In fact the Rijk’s Museum provides free entrance to all disabled people.

You need not worry about going to toilet as there are some that are disabled friendly and hence easily accessible. Also, various lifts are provided to comfortably travel from one level to another, easily and quickly.

Eating and shopping

Most of the restaurants and shopping malls have a disabled entrance either next to the main entrance or just nearby. Once inside, the places are easy to navigate and the staff is friendly and helpful enough to take care of any potentially embarrassing situations.

Amsterdam is hence one of the most easily accessible cities in Europe and also the world. It is also one of the few that can be reached by land or air or water and each individual should select the mode that he or she likes most.

The best part is that if the travel is planned well in advance, you get bookings in places that are completely disabled friendly and also works out to be extremely inexpensive. Most of the travelers who come to the city for the second time try out a mode of transport different form the one they used the first time as they are sure that any mode with be easily accessible even to the disabled. It is partially due to its easy accessibility to disabled that it is one the most visited cities.

Related article:

• Travel industry ‘failing to cater for disabled’ (telegraph.co.uk)