Visiting Spain As A Disabled Traveler? These Are The Best Places To Visit

Traveling as a personal with a disablity of any kind brings its own unique challenges, and these are likely to differ from individual to individual.

As a general rule, Spain is a welcoming and inclusive destination for all travelers. But there are some destinations in particular that have made adaptations to make traveling easier for those with a physical or mental disability, or a visual or auditory impairment.

So where should you consider for your next Spanish break in the sun? Here are some of the best picks:

Barcelona

Barcelona is officially the most visited city in Spain and it has worked hard to ensure it is accessible to all travelers. This is reflected in the fact that the city won third prize in 2022's Access City Awards.

In terms of public transport, all buses in the city have ramps and 90% of metro stations in the city are fully accessible too.

But where are you getting public transport to? Well attractions in the city such as  Gaudí's La Pedrera and the Joan Miró Foundation are fully wheelchair friendly. There are 2 fully accessible routes in Gaudi’s Park Guell too.

For visually impaired travelers, you can secure an audio guide for people with visual impairments at the Sagrada Familia, and parts of the cathedral are adapted for tactile exploration too.

To make the most of your time in Barcelona, visit the Barcelona Access website which is a great resource for finding accessible attractions, as well as specialist tours to suit your needs.

Madrid

Madrid is a city with a rich cultural heritage and its own unique charms, but because the infrastructure is a little older it’s worth noting that it isn’t quite as accessible as Barcelona. Only 70% of the city’s metro stations are accessible, for example, but this still means that you can get around the main attractions of the city.

To help differently abled travellers to navigate the city,  the Madrid City Council Tourism Department has put together a guide with eight different tourism routes that are accessible to all disabled travelers.

There are a huge number of accessible locations in the city, some of the most notable of which include the Prado National Museum and the Reina Sofía National Art Museum. 

Málaga

Malaga is our favourite Spanish city as well as a wonderfully accessible one. In 2019 it was awarded a European Smart Tourism Award for its outstanding achievements in accessibility.

The reason for this award? Its accessible transport network played a significant role. The local Cercanías train service between Málaga and Fuengirola, as well as both metro lines have wheelchair access and lifts to the platform. Buses also have wheelchair access via electronic ramps.

And what attractions in Malaga are accessible? Almost all of them actually! The renowned museums of the city, such as the CAC, Picasso Museum, the Pompidou Centre, the Russian Museum, and the Thyssen Museum are all wheelchair accessible.

Valencia

Valencia deserves special recognition for just how accessible it is, particularly for wheelchair users. All of the stations in the city (with the exception of Valencia Sud station) are fully adapted and have both ramps and elevators.

Following this accessibility theme, many of the museums in Valencia have been adapted to those with physical, auditory and visual impairment. These include the Museum of Fine Arts, the Oceanogràfic, the Science Museum, the Silk Museum and the Fallas Museum.

If you are visiting Valencia as an individual with a visual impairment then be sure to download Maps Voice. This is available in the city and allows you to listen to the information on maps, if you’re unable to read them.

Bilbao

One of the best northern Spanish cities for disabled travellers is the Basque city of Bilbao. If you’re a wheelchair user then you’ll appreciate the wide pavements as well as the many lowered curbs. There are also ramps on each bridge over the River Nervión.

If you are registered disabled then you are eligible for discounted rates on the Bilbao metro, and those accompanying a wheelchair user or a severely sight-impaired passenger can also travel free of charge.

The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum boasts a tactile experience space for people with visual disabilities, and the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum has a certificate that accredits its accessibility system. This enables it to be fully accessible to individuals with a wide range of disabilities.

Córdoba

The final city on our list is Cordoba which won second prize in the European Commission's Access City Award for 2023. Please note that this doesn’t mean these are the only accessible cities in Spain, and there are plenty of other cities to choose if these aren’t right for you.

The city has a dedicated Delegation of Inclusion and Accessibility that promotes the city and improves accessibility for tourists who visit the city. All of the city’s train stations are fully accessible too.

If you wish to visit Cordoba for its famous Patio Festival which takes place in the city each May then this is also possible for disabled travellers. During the festival, mobile ramps are installed for wheelchair users or people with reduced mobility. And it’s also worth noting that Córdoba’s Julio Romero de Torres Museum is also the first museum in Spain to be 100 percent accessible.

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