Driving between France and Italy this year? You may be forced take a detour as the Mont-Blanc Tunnel, which links the two countries beneath the Alps, is closing for 15 weeks for renovation work.
28.08.2024 - 21:30 / cntraveler.com
“The pavements are often narrow and cluttered. There’s always either a badly parked bike, dustbins, or dog waste,” says Virginie Dubost, a wheelchair user and disability consultant who lives and works in Paris. Recently, when coming out of a museum, she got stuck. “The pavement was very high, and it was complicated to turn around,” she tells me.
Paris should be accessible: France has passed three accessibility laws in the last 49 years. But these laws have not been enforced. For Nicolas Mérille, National Advisor on Accessibility for APF France Handicap, the French advocacy group for Disabled people, it is disheartening. “Some of our members cried when the implementation of the law was postponed another 10 years,” he recalls.
The Agitos logo, emblem of the Paralympic Games, hangs on the Arc de Triomphe in tribute to the Games.
Then, in 2017, Paris won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games—and with it came promises of universal accessibility. Coincidentally, the Games are taking place just weeks before the latest accessibility deadline: “By September 26, 2024, all public establishments and transportation systems are required by law to be accessible to people with disabilities,” says Mérille.
In an attempt to keep both its Olympic and legal promises, Paris fast-tracked accessibility measures. In three years, the Mayor’s office has made city-wide improvements that would have otherwise taken 20 years—Parisian trams and buses are now wheelchair accessible, with vocal and visual stop announcements, and pedestrian crossings have vocal guides and tactile guiding strips.
Retrofitting accessibility features to the metro is more complicated and expensive due to the city’s historical infrastructure. Currently, only the latest line (Métro Line 14) is fully accessible. While many metro lines have vocal and visual stop announcements, “there are still no caption screens on most of the metro or trains to provide announcements or information about changes,” regrets Agnes Fédrizzi, a deaf physiotherapist who lives in the Parisian suburbs.
On August 24, 2024, Paralympic athletes and the Games' official flag arrived at the Hotel De Ville - Paris ahead of the opening ceremony.
The Paris 2024 organizers have, however, developed accessible signage to help visitors navigate the city this summer. It features pictograms—simple drawings of Parisian landmarks—contrasting colors (purple on pink), and clear fonts in French and English. Braille has been added to the bannisters of some metro stations, and railway stations feature tactile paving. Temporary wheelchair-accessible shuttles will make up for the difficulty of taking public transport.
The Paris airports are also undergoing accessibility improvements. Over the past
Driving between France and Italy this year? You may be forced take a detour as the Mont-Blanc Tunnel, which links the two countries beneath the Alps, is closing for 15 weeks for renovation work.
Europe’s ancient cobbled cities are not necessarily renowned for accessibility, but if you know where to look, Paris has reliably accessible places to visit. The bus system is fully accessible, with frequent services to most areas in the city. Many of the major activities or venues in the city have elevators, ramps, and staff more than willing to help. Plus, most of the museums and cultural activities in the city are available for free or at a heavily discounted rate for people with disabilities and their caregivers.
London is in its global hotel brand era: In the last year, it’s added a Raffles, a Peninsula and a second Mandarin Oriental; a Waldorf Astoria, a St. Regis and a Six Senses are on their way. This new guard is taking over historical icons and throwing up gleaming towers, and it’s upping the ante on amenities, too. A posh afternoon tea is no longer enough, it seems; now, five-stars come with signature scents, subterranean spas, museum-worthy art and long-stay residences. Rooftop bars, a rarity here a decade ago, are now seemingly obligatory (Bar 33 at the Emory wins for views, with everything from Big Ben to Battersea Power Station in its sights). But there’s still room for the occasional independent hotel, like the Broadwick, a maximalist love letter to the owner Noel Hayden’s hotelier parents and the creative Soho of the ’90s in which he came of age. “It’s a bit of a sensory overload,” Hayden says. Naturally, there’s a rooftop bar there, too.
Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is celebrating the unofficial end of summer with a Labor Day sale tempting travelers with 25 percent off flights to Europe.
We’re back with another edition of the brands and properties that have caught my eye this season.
Hostels are my preferred option when I'm traveling alone.
When my husband and I got stranded in Paris during the global Crowdstrike meltdown last month, we decided to make it a lemonade out of lemons event. We were on our way home, flying with Delta Air Lines from Istanbul to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a connection through Paris following a two-week Mediterranean cruise.
When Los Angeles–based designer Clare Vivier began decorating the 19th-century house she'd bought in her husband's hometown of Saint-Calais, in France's Loire Valley, she had a particular aesthetic in mind. “I love color and patterns but wanted something peaceful, so the intention was to create a dialogue between those two things,” she says. She wanted the house to have a blend of contemporary pieces, antiques, and textiles from heritage maisons to create a space that, much like her namesake handbag and fashion label, channeled both California fun and French sophistication. She also knew that she wanted her longtime friend Kate Berry, a designer and creative director, to help her make it happen.
The 2024 Olympics seemed like a great time to explore Paris, so my friends and I began booking our trip over a year in advance.
Aug 20, 2024 • 7 min read
Aug 20, 2024 • 0 min read
Looking to bolster its presence in the European short-term rental market, India-based hospitality company Oyo has acquired Paris-based rental management company Checkmyguest. The acquisition is valued at INR 2.3 billion ($27.4 million), according to reports.