You may have taken a few trips with your disability, and now you’re up for taking a trip to Europe. How difficult will it be? Where can you find accessible hotels? Are the tourist attractions wheelchair accessible? Are the busses, trains, and taxis accessible?

There are several issues to consider before taking your first disabled trip to Europe. Perhaps the most important is deciding on a destination. If you have a disability, your best options for a first trip to Europe are London or Berlin. Both locations have excellent accessibility, plenty of sights to see, and minimal language barriers for English speakers. Both were bombed heavily during World War II which means that there are few cobblestones, and many hotels are housed in modern buildings with accessible entrances and bathrooms. Both cities have very few hills as well as building codes that have resulted in almost all of the tourist attractions being wheelchair accessible.

When visiting London, there are at least two weeks worth of attractions to see. Most museums have excellent accessibility including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Cabinet War Rooms, the Tate Modern, and the Imperial War Museum. The most popular churches, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, are both accessible to wheelchair users. Wheelchair users are able to get great views of the city from the London Eye or one of the boat tours departing near Westminster Bridge. The Tower of London is minimally accessible with about 80% of it requiring ascending stairs and the other 20% of it requiring going over cobblestones.

Getting around London in a wheelchair is quite easy with essentially all of the busses having wheelchair ramps and a fleet of accessible taxis. Every taxi has a ramp, and wheelchair users can stay in their chair.

Berlin is another accessible European city, and perhaps the best destination in the world for 20th century history. Numerous historical locations can be visited in a wheelchair including the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, and Checkpoint Charlie. Excellent accessible museums also exist in Berlin including the German History Museum, the Gem