Travelling to Paris

Following the publication of the new guide (2008), these pages are being progressively updated.

This section is based on our experiences in 1992 and 1996.
The latest information taken from the 2008 edition of Access in Paris is available here as a pdf file: Travelling.pdfpdf
You may need to download the free programme Acrobat Reader in order to read it.

The text below is from the previous edition of the guide.

There are several ways of getting there with varying degrees of accessibility. The opening of the Channel Tunnel means that, for the first time, you can travel directly from England to Paris by car or train without having to get out and transfer to a ferry.

You can, of course, travel by coach or train to the channel port; by ferry, hovercraft or SeaCat to get across the water and then by coach or train on the other side. Each of these routes and each transfer involves some problems.

Undoubtedly the easiest car ferry route is the one from Dover to Calais. The ferries operating all have lifts and wheelchair loos and there are frequent crossings. It doesn't matter much if you miss a ferry and if you turn up really early you might catch an earlier one.

Transport information for people with disabilities is available from Tripscope, The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Bristol BS16 2QQ, Tel: 0845 758 5641. E-mail . Tripscope offers information on journeys of any distance - local, long distance or international. The information is free of charge and they will phone you back if necessary. Wherever you are starting from they can advise on the easiest and the cheapest ways of travelling and about the problems you may meet.

We have organised this section to describe travelling by:

There is also some information on coach or minibus hire.

We are looking at things largely from the point of view of someone making their own plans and bookings. Remember that if you are arranging your trip through a tour company it is essential that you make your needs clear and check that they can organise things to your satisfaction.

Travelling by car or minibus

If you are taking your car abroad, all the usual precautions apply. Make sure it has been serviced and is in reasonable nick. Hints on driving in France are included in Access in Paris. The route from Calais and Paris is mainly by Autoroute A1 and the biggest service stations have wheelchair accessible loos. A booklet Guide des Autoroutes a` l'Usage des Personnes a` Mobilité Réduite (Guide to the facilities on Autoroutes for disabled people) covers all French autoroutes and is available from the CNFLRH. A new edition was published in 1993 and it can also be obtained from Information-Communication, Direction des Routes, La Grande Arche, 92055 La Défense, Cedex 04.

Comparing the different crossings

There is a wide choice of routes and of methods of crossing the channel and what you want to do will depend on where you are starting from, where else in France you are going and your own particular preferences and needs. As a generalisation the ferries offer a more accessible and fuss-free way of crossing than either Hoverspeed or SeaCat on the short route from Dover to Calais. Ferries also give you the choice of longer routes starting from other ports such as Portsmouth and Felixstowe. The opening of the Channel Tunnel increases the number of accessible options available.

If there are access problems on your intended route it makes it even more important to contact the company involved in advance and ask for appropriate information and assistance. Even on the main Dover-Calais ferries, the operators ask that disabled passengers let them know 48 hours in advance if possible. It means that if there were a large number of disabled people wanting to use a particular crossing they could make appropriate staffing arrangements. In practice you'll probably be perfectly all right on this route if you just turn up and that is one of its advantages. Whichever way you go it is sensible to arrive in good time. Most of the operators like you to arrive about an hour before the advertised departure time.

Most ferries have lifts linking the car deck to the main decks. The problem the loading officer has is that once the car deck becomes full (or parts of it become full) chair users may not be able to get between the vehicles to get to the lift. If you have special needs not met by the normal provisions or if a group of disabled people are travelling together it is advisable to contact the ferry company and discuss the practicalities with them.

Hovercraft and SeaCat both have access barriers or problems between the car deck and the passenger areas so make sure that you are aware of them.

It is important to make your presence known to the loading officer. You can do this at the ticket check and more importantly confirm it when you are instructed to join a particular queue of cars. The key thing is that most passengers will go up the internal stairs to get to the car deck. Most passengers with disabilities will want to use the lift and you need to make this requirement known. Things are much easier with everyone at the port having a mobile radio. It could be sensible to display a prominent 'disabled' symbol in your windscreen to call attention to the fact that you will need to use the lift.

Car drivers and their passengers may not even need to get out of their cars before driving on board, provided that they have booked in advance and their documentation is in order. However, the time at the ferry port can give the opportunity for a break. The only occasion when you are likely to be asked to get out of your car is on disembarkation when you may be asked to do so by a customs official in the course of a customs search. With new common market procedures, this should become less common. However, you may well find it advisable to use the wheelchair loos in the terminal buildings as there will probably only be one on the ferry and if there are several chair users travelling you might find that it is occupied.

The internal steps on a ferry from the car deck to the passenger areas are usually quite steep and there may be quite a lot of them. If you have a problem because of a heart or chest condition or for any other reason, explain this briefly to the crew and they will let you use the lift.

Folkestone-Calais using 'le Shuttle' through the Channel Tunnel

Eurotunnel have gone to considerable lengths to incorporate the needs of passengers with disabilities in their design. What they aim to do is to provide a turn up and travel service, with no reservation, between Folkestone and Calais. The Shuttle is primarily for passengers with their own cars.

Frontier formalities are the same as those at other places where people travel to and from France, but they are all be carried out at the point of departure. Thus in travelling in either direction you first buy your ticket then pass through the customs formalities of the country you are leaving and the immigration controls of the country you are entering, all on the same site. When you arrive you are free to drive straight off. The terminals at either end have a range of facilities such as shops and restaurants and there is provision of loos for people with disabilities.

The shuttle carriages have two areas. A double deck section for normal cars with a height restriction on it and a single deck section which will take mini-buses and coaches. Some disabled people with adapted cars with high roofs may have to use the single deck section. Perhaps the most important thing for many disabled people is that you will be able to remain in or near your car during the journey. As the journey time is only 35 minutes you should be on the shuttle for less than an hour all told. The procedure cuts out all the business of loading and unloading that you have to go through with a ferry.

The principal requirement in relation to passengers with disabilities from Eurotunnel's point of view is that they should declare themselves on arrival. Our only comment on this is that it isn't quite as obvious or simple as it sounds. They site the vehicles with disabled drivers or passengers in the lower deck of the front carriage which means that you'll get off first and, in the unlikely event of an emergency, Eurotunnel staff will have the right equipment to hand to help people get off.

There is provision for carrying up to five disabled people in the double deck section of the trains and up to ten in the single deck half. If there are large groups of disabled people wanting to travel they are asked to give advanced notice if possible.

Dover-Calais by ferry

P&O European ferries and Stena have recently merged their operations on the Dover-Calais route (Tel: 0990 980980), with some former Sealink services now operated by SeaFrance (Tel: 01304 212696).

All the ferries have large lifts, wheelchair loos and reasonably good access. There are also good facilities at both ports.

For road travellers the M2/A2 via Canterbury and the M20/A20 via Folkestone both provide motorway or dual carriageway links with the port and both link to the M25. Dover is by far the biggest and busiest of all the channel ports, being served by eight very large ferries - up to 38 sailings a day.

There is flat access everywhere via ramps or lifts. Each set of loos has a unisex wheelchair loo. All the public buildings have loop systems for people with impaired hearing. Seats in the restaurants are movable.

There is a Motorists' Information Centre at car assembly park B giving information on the European road network. A port plan can be provided and a leaflet for disabled travellers. For more information contact Dover Harbour Board, Harbour House, Dover, Kent CT17 9BU, Tel: (01304) 240400.

On your arrival, staff will fix a coloured sticker to your windscreen. This is done so that disabled travellers can be loaded on the ferry as close as possible to a lift. It also alerts other staff to the presence of passengers with special needs. Make sure that you have this 'mark'.

At Calais the car-ferry terminal and hoverport are directly connected to the A26 motorway network. The terminal building has flat access throughout. Some facilities, including the restaurant, are on the upper floors which are reached by lift (D80 W109 L140). There are wheelchair loos which are available to passengers travelling in both directions. For more information contact Le Directeur Général, Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Calais, Hôtel Consulaire, 24 bd des Alliés BP 199, 62104 Calais, Tel: 02.21.46.00.00 Fax: 02.21.46.00.99.

En route to Dover

If you are taking your own car and either using a ferry or `le Shuttle' which will run through the channel tunnel, you may be driving quite a way before you get to the coast. While we haven't undertaken a full survey of what is involved we can make a few suggestions.

Most motorway service stations have reasonable facilities and in particular loos for chair users. However, you must remember that there are still long stretches of motorway - notably large sections of the M25 - which have no services.

The Farthing Corner services are on the M2, some 55km from Dover, between junctions 4 and 5. The wheelchair loo is on the London bound side, but can be accessed by going across the ramped bridge if you are going towards Canterbury/Dover. It uses the RADAR key scheme, but if you don't have a key you can get one from a staff member. The Little Chef at Harbledon, about 30km from Dover, has a wheelchair loo reached via the restaurant, as does the Esso Service Station on the M2, 5km short of Dover.

The book Access in Paris contains suggestions of accessible hotels either side of the Channel.

Using the Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel

Tel: 0345 303030 or 0345 881881

The core service consists of direct services from London Waterloo and Ashford Internatonal to the Gare du Nord. The journey time is about three hours. There are also some direct services to Disneyland Paris, although these are significantly more frequent in summer. Eventually, with the opening of the high speed link from London to the Tunnel (scheduled for the early part of the next century), there will be direct trains to St Pancras with connections to the regions. However, plans for direct sleeper services have, for the moment, been cancelled.

Unlike the shuttle, people with disabilities, and more specifically anyone who would have a problem getting on and off the train and sitting in a conventional seat, will need to book in advance. The number of wheelchair spaces, for example, is limited and French stations have a much bigger drop from carriage to platform than British ones.

There are two allocated wheelchair spaces in the first class carriage of each train, although charged at the second class rate. One problem we see with this quite restricted facility is that the chair spaces may be booked by someone who really doesn't mind transferring which would block off the booking for someone else who really cannot comfortably transfer. One companion can sit with the chair user and pay the second class fare, but any further group members have to pay the first class fare, or sit some distance away in the second class carriage: an arrangement which is particularly inconvenient for family groups.

At Waterloo and at the Gare du Nord there are lifts and inclined travelators to provide step free access to the platforms, although facilities are currently being improved at the Gare du Nord and access may not be straightforward. There are quite long distances to walk at either station, particularly at Waterloo, because the trains are VERY long. At British stations, portable ramps are available to help you get on board if you have trouble with steps. At the Gare du Nord, in common with other French stations, the height difference between the carriage and the platform is considerable, and access should normally be by a movable platform lift, although we have heard reports that it is sometimes unavailable, and then chair users have to be lifted off the train!

The Gare du Nord links up with the RER, important parts of which are accessible. As we write, the lift to the RER at the Gare du Nord has been out of service for some considerable time (sadly, several years !).

By air

This can be the quickest way to go, and has particular attractions if you do not live in southeast England, near the channel ports. It can also be fairly expensive. The chief disadvantage is that you finish up 20km outside the centre of Paris without transport. If hiring a car is a possibility you can solve two major problems; getting into Paris itself and getting around once there.

For many years airport authorities and airlines have made better provision for disabled travellers than organisations in charge of other forms of transport. Help is available at most airports for both chair users and disabled walkers and if you find distances a problem you can either borrow a wheelchair or ride on one of those fancy motorised buggies which are used at the big airports. Airports are, however, big and busy places and often the signposting and information services are inadequate. Free information leaflets for disabled people for most UK airports are available from the British Airports Authority Publications Department, Gatwick Airport, Horley, West Sussex and from the Air Transport Users Committee, 2nd Floor, Kingsway House, 103 Kingsway, London WC2B 6QX, Tel: (0171) 242 3882.

British Airways fly direct from Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, London City Airport and London Heathrow. Should a wheelchair passenger be travelling unaccompanied, British Airways offers a complementary `Meet and Assist' service; meeting you on arrival and offering assistance with all airport procedure onto the plane. This service should be requested when you make your reservation. You can travel with wet cell batteries for an electric wheelchair providing they are properly prepared for carriage and British Airways offer advice on this.

Air France have direct flights from Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Southampton, London City Airport and London Heathrow. Any disabled passengers must inform Air France of the nature of their disability when making the flight reservations and the company doctor will decide whether the passenger must be accompanied on board the aircraft. Air France enlists the services of specialised firms to accompany the passenger through the airport procedures and onto the aircraft. Wheelchairs are transported free of charge, but wet cell batteries are not accepted. Disabled children cannot travel unless accompanied.

Although provincial airports may be closer to where you live, they are naturally much smaller than the London ones and there will probably be steps up into the aircraft. Procedures for coping with disabled passengers will vary, and if you are lucky there will be a fork lift truck to get you up to the aircraft door.

Access in Paris contains details of the accessiblity of the relevant areas of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. On the Disability Net we include our surveys of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris.

Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is newer and smaller than Heathrow. It has much the same range of services, and access to public transport, at least in terminal 2, is now much improved. There is flat/ramped access everywhere and the inclined travelators are quite exciting. There are several wheelchair loos and a number of courtesy telephones with a special number for disabled passengers needing assistance. The TGV station is in terminal 2, and incorporates an RER station. Both have lift access, and provide direct trains to Paris and provincial cities such as Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Nantes.

The RER station for terminal 1 has lift access, but is around 2km from the terminals. There are supposed to be low floor buses to terminal 1, and between the terminals: however, when we last visited, they did not seem to exist, and all airport buses had +3 steps at the entrance. You may like to organise one of the accessible minibuses to meet your flight and take you to your hotel. Details of these are given in the section on Getting around in Paris. If you do this, make sure that you arrange a very clear meeting point by a numbered entrance.

Terminal 1 where you arrive on British Airways is circular, and hence meeting someone is not as easy as it sounds. The marked 'meeting point' is on the arrivals level by exit 36. Terminal 2 where you arrive on Air France is even more complicated, and is split into three separate sections, with another one opening soon. You need to find out which part you are using if you arrive or leave from this terminal. The parts are 2A, 2B 2C and 2D. We are told that special arrangements can be made by the airport administration to transfer wheelchair users to the RER station, but we have no experience of this. A free information leaflet about the airport in English and including some information for disabled passengers is available from Aéroports de Paris, Servicing Marketing Passengers, Orly Sud 103, 94396 Orly Aérogare Cedex. Special contact numbers for disabled passengers at terminal 1 are Tel: 01.48.62.28.24 and at terminal 2 Tel: 01.48.62.59.00.

Orly airport, located south of Paris off the A6, has two terminals. The West terminal is for internal flights and the South terminal for international flights. The airport is not directly accessible by rail because the Orly RER station has dozens of steps. There is, however, a bus service which runs from opposite the RER station at Denfert-Rochereau to Orly. Each terminal has an underground car park with access via a huge lift to the terminal and each car park has well signposted disabled parking spaces with assistance phones next to them. A shuttle service connects the two terminals and, like the RER shuttle bus, has 2 steps with handrails through a wide door into the bus. Wheelchairs are provided by the airport authorities and it is neccessary to transfer onto these chairs in order to get onto the plane. They will not allow you to use your own chair.

The South terminal, Tel: 01.49.75.77.48 - disabled travellers' information Tel: 01.49.75.30.70 - has six floors connected by eight large lifts with one wheelchair loo on each of the basement, ground and first floors. On the first floor, opposite gate M, is Girt Air which is the reception desk for disabled travellers. This desk provides wheelchairs and any assistance that a disabled person needs. All the shops and cafés are accessible.

The West terminal, Tel: 01.49.75.78.48 - disabled travellers' information Tel: 01.46.75.18.18 has three floors and four large lifts which go to all floors. There is one unisex wheelchair loo at each end of the first floor. Also on the first floor at gate W is the reception for disabled travellers which can provide wheelchairs as well as assistance. All the shops and cafés have flat access.