Are you looking for a destination where to spend a short holiday during the upcoming Christmas holidays? In addition to those we’ve talked about earlier, today I suggest you a city rich in history, which is very suggestive in this time of the year: Brussels. The capital city of Belgium, which also hosts many offices of the European Union, is the perfect destination if you love history, arts (a name for all: Magritte) and, of course, chocolate!
A typical chocolaterie in Brussels
The “capital city of Europe”, since a long time, has been very committed towards accessibility, aiming to become fully usable for everyone, regardless of any motoric or sensory limitation. Sure, a proverbial touch of magic wand to adequate the numerous historical buildings in Brussels to everyone’s needs; but there’s no doubt that the city has moved well forward towards this goal.
A view of the city
The STIB, the company that manages public transport in Brussels, is still committed to increase the accessibility level of subways and buses, as well as the stations and stops. Nowadays, many subway stations are equipped with elevators and all of them offer a 24/7 assistance service, to help travellers with physical or sensory limitations safely access the vehicles. You can request the service by phone or using the online form available on the STIB website. City buses, today, are all equipped with lowered platforms to ease the passengers hop-on and off as well. Moreover, the company has developed a signage system (called “AccessiBus”) to mark the accessible stops. For those who prefer moving by cabs, most of the vehicles circulating in Brussels are equipped to host wheelchairs too.
The Grand Place
And what about monuments, museums and the other touristic attractions in Brussels? To check the accessibility of the place you’re interested in, you have at your disposal both a constantly updated portal (available in French, English and Dutch) and an app, which can be downloaded for free on your smartphone, available in various languages, including English, French, Portuguese and Dutch.
The Manneken Pis, one of the symbols of Brussels
So, you just have to plan your journey and leave! Have you been in Brussels, recently? What do you think about it, as regards accessibility? Share your experience in the comments!