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Normandy Accessibility
Note: this is from a visit to Normandy in 2006. For updated information, please visit our Normandy Disabled Access Review page.
I spent a week in Normandy and Tours in a wheechair by myself. It is a flat area of France and was fairly easy for me to navigate (I was 29 and in a manual wheelchair). As for a reference of what I mean by “accessible”….I don’t walk; I can navigate cobblestones very slowly; I can get up a step about 6 inches high; I can get in and out of bathtubs; and I can push long distances if it’s flat. Here are some details about accessibility that might be useful. Please let me know if any of these details are wrong.
Rouen
Rouen has the cathedral that Monet painted and is where Joan of Arc was killed. It is northwest of Paris. I stayed at the Hotel D’Angleterre which had a 6” step to get inside but was accessible otherwise. It is located downhill from the train station near the river (keep in mind that it is always downhill to the river in any town!) The main street going down to the river is Rue Jeanne d’Arc and is smooth. The main cross street that connects the Joan of Arc Church and the Notre Dame cathedral is called Rue de Gros-Horloge (big clock) and has mild cobblestones. The Notre Dame cathedral has medium cobblestones in front of it and a small or no step to get in (I can’t remember which). Joan of Arc Church has an accessible entrance and viewing of the monument where she was killed. The art museum has a wheelchair entrance on the right side of the museum…ring the doorbell.
D-day beaches
St. Mere-Eglise is the town where the paratrooper got caught on the church steeple and is portrayed in the movie “The Longest Day”. The church and the museum are accessible. Utah beach is not accessible due to sand. Pointe du Hoc is the only place I saw where the craters haven’t been repaired and is worth seeing. The path is paved and accessible. The German Military Cemetery at La Cambe is accessible. The American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer is accessible and definitely worth visiting. The film “Arromanches 360” at Arromanches is accessible. Omaha beach can be viewed from the road
Bayeux
Bayeux is a small town near the D-day beaches and has a big cathedral and the Bayeux tapestry documenting the Norman Invasion of 1066. There are medium cobblestones near the cathedral; there is an accessible entrance on the side. The back entrance to the building containing the tapestry is accessible.
Caen
The museum at Caen is the best D-Day museum in Normandy. It is accessible and I believe there is a single step to get on and off the train at the station. From here I took a train to Tours and I believe there were two steps to get on the train. By the way, all of the train stations I went to had a manual lift to get wheelchairs onto the trains. Just ask at the train station, and be sure to tell them where you are getting off…they will phone ahead and have someone waiting with the lift.
Tours
Tours has a small town center which is flat without any bad cobblestones. I stayed at the Best Western Le Grande which was about 50 meters from the train station. From the train station I arranged a day tour to visit the chateaux. The van did not have a lift but I didn’t have problems getting into the high passenger seat. I visited four chateaux: 1) Azay had a flight of stairs to get into and I only viewed the moat and the exterior 2) at Villandry I was able to view the ground floor and there was medium gravel and bad cobblestones for about 50 meters in the elegantly manicured garden. Pick up the map so you can plan an efficient route through the gardens 3) Chambord had 15 meters of bad gravel inside the wall to get to the interior and I could only see the ground floor 4) at Cheverny there are 8 to 10 steps to enter. I got lifted up the steps and was able to see the ground floor. Be sure to visit the hunting dogs in the back!
