[azaleeboy]

I love the art in your title pages.  Is it yours?  It adds real character.

Good to see that there are some great museums available (I love museums) that are putting an effort in to be wheelchair accessible, but yikes those are expensive taxis!

[Unknown Member]

@AzaleeBoy

Thank you! My hubby is a graphic designer and creates these little artworks :-).

[alison]

I saw this sign near my hotel in Brussels (nice big letters in the window so it is hard to miss!).  It seems that this organization is a lobbying group for the EU.  Hopefully they are making headway!  

[alison]

I am also on the lookout for accessible toilets in Brussels, but public toilets in general are few and far between (or just difficult to spot!).

Here is one that stood out  with a wheelchair mark near the square of Sainte-Catherine.  You need to put in a few coins to use it.

This area is a kilometre or so from the Grand Palace touristy area, but has lots of outdoor cafes and areas to stroll.

https://goo.gl/maps/2fHQxZHrMds

 

 

[weekender]

I saw this sign near my hotel in Brussels (nice big letters in the window so it is hard to miss!). It seems that this organization is a lobbying group for the EU. Hopefully they are making headway!   Hopefully, though they have already been in existence for nearly 25 years. 🙂

http://www.edf-feph.org/

[alison]

Toilets are hard to find at the best of times in Brussels.  For wheelchair users this is made even more difficult because many restaurants and coffee shops in the tourist centre core have a step up to get in.  Here are a few wheelchair accessible toilets we found last weekend.

1.Hotel Amigo

A posh hotel only a couple of minutes walk from the Grand Place in the direction of Manneken Pis.  The staff let us use the accessible washroom without hesitation for free.

Rue de l’Amigo 1-3, 1000 Bruxelles

+32 2 547 47 47

https://goo.gl/maps/qLLZc3pEZzzgUwji7

2. Novotel Brussels Off Grand Place

Another washroom that we used near Grand Place on the way to the central station.  You must pay 1 euro at the front desk to get the key but they have an accessible toilet for use.

Rue du Marché Aux Herbes 120, 1000 Bruxelles,

+32 2 620 04 29

https://goo.gl/maps/xx9ugCB2Ez7BZegF6

3. Ubiway The Mint

A little bit North West from Grand Place and just past De Brouckere Metro station, a spacious spot to rest for coffee indoors with a free accessible toilet. Don’t even have to buy coffee to use the washroom.

Boulevard Anspach 2, 1000 Bruxelles,

+32 2 261 03 80

https://goo.gl/maps/uKfRkaNyYTmbdEWw9

 

[alison]

I posted this elsewhere on a discussion about buses, but for completeness I will repost it here.  We found that buses are frequent in Brussels and had a mostly positive experience.  We didn’t try the metro because you have to pre-book for assistance and we wanted more flexibility.

 

As for easy boarding/getting off, we were 2 for 3 on the buses that we took (line 27).  Two times the ramp deployed, one time it was broken.  Even still, the bus ‘knelt’ down and we could board and get off the bus in a manual wheelchair with a bit of assistance without the ramp (probably not possible in an electric wheelchair).  Sorry I can’t give you results from a bigger sample size!

 

Some routes in Brussels are identified as being “more” accessible.  (I assume this means the ramp will always work??) Check this his page out:

http://www.stib-mivb.be/article.html?l=en&_guid=d0f0d466-1483-3410-45af-9748427ab131

As you can see, line 27 that we took isn’t on the list, but it was still possible to ride in a wheelchair.

 

The bus routes from the airport are on the list as “more” accessible (Routes 12 and 21).  Good service every 10 to 20 minutes.  I ride the bus to the airport frequently, but I have yet to see a wheelchair on it.  However, the buses are the same type as the ones we rode elsewhere in the city so I wouldn’t foresee any problems getting on.  I recommend telling the driver where you want to get off beforehand and he/she will stop the bus in a easy position to get off.

[jach374]

Berlin Berlin is beautiful I like it.

[duxinco]

Weekender;

Thank you for your thorough albeit discouraging post. My partner (and my kids’ father) l-o-v-e-s Belgium and really wants us to go (although it is a big trip for us coming from the western USA). I’ve told him “fine — you plan it.” He has never, ever planned a trip in his entire life (before we got together he traveled frequently with work, or his friends planned everything). He tries to sneak out of getting his phone online (when in other countries) so he doesn’t even have to help navigate, do on-the-spot research where to eat, etc. So I am pretty sure we will never get to Belgium. Maybe that’s for the best, eh … but I still copied your post to share with him, in case lightning strikes. Ha ha! After our last stressful trip (Puerto Vallarta, MX) I am kinda taking a break from planning any more trips (although we are go London next month and then Greece this summer — already planned + paid for) — my psyche needs the respite.

Hope your other travels have been and continue to be fun and ACCESSIBLE. 

[pieterghijsels]

Hi

Just a small note from a local: what goes for the capital doesn’t necessarily go for the whole country. If your partner wants to plan a holiday in Belgium, I suggest to start from http://www.accessibleflanders.be. Flanders is the northern region of Belgium. It’s far from perfect in terms of accessibility (lots of old places) but if you prepare a bit, it will be worth the effort.