These Are The Most Wheelchair-Friendly Cities in Europe, and the Least

A press release:

Bucharest is the most wheelchair-friendly city in Europe – London and Copenhagen are some of the worst equipped

Many of us want to travel the world and explore new cities and cultures, but for those with accessibility needs, there are often additional things to consider when planning a getaway. Finding a suitable place to stay is often a top consideration.

HomeToGo, the world’s largest accommodation search engine, has conducted a report into the most wheelchair-friendly cities in Europe. As this Sunday marks ‘International Wheelchair Day’ this study reveals which destinations have the best suited accommodations for people with who need wheelchair access, and which cities are lagging behind.

For the study, HomeToGo used their database of over 17 million properties, which encompasses all major holiday rental providers (including AirBNB and Booking.com). Only cities with 500,000 inhabitants or more were included in the report. The study reveals a list of the 20 major European cities that have the highest proportion of wheelchair-friendly accommodation options.

Bucharest achieved the highest score overall with a total of 11.4% of properties in the city listed as ‘wheelchair accessible’. Following closely behind were Balkan capitals Sofia (10.41%) and Sarajevo (10.20%).

The three top ranking cities are all from South-Eastern Europe, an area that has seen a large influx in tourism in recent years (with an increase in annual arrivals of around 15 million since 2010). These up-and-coming destinations are a great choice for those with accessibility needs and are perfect if you want to experience something slightly off the beaten track.

The top 5 most accessible cities:

On the other hand, Copenhagen is the least wheelchair-friendly city in our ranking, with only 3.25% of properties offering wheelchair access. This may be in part due to the many multi-story apartment buildings that are popular there. Bristol (4.79%)  and London (4.82) also lacked good provisions for those with accessibility needs, with many historic buildings that can lack the infrastructure for wheelchairs.

The five least wheelchair-friendly cities:

Please refer here for more information and the full study:

https://www.hometogo.co.uk/inspiration/accessible/#accessible-europe