This well established guidebook was originally published in 1974, and was the first guidebook ever to use the title ‘Access’ referring to access by disabled people. Later editions were published in 1985, 1993 and 2008.
The guide is available as a book or can be downloaded in PDF format from the website (see below). If you want a copy of the book, go to Contact us. 

The guide chapters/sections are available to download as PDF files:

• Prelims (1Mb)
• Intro-General Info [p. 1-54] (1.7Mb)
• Travelling [p. 55-78] (1.3Mb)
• Accommodation [p. 79-120] (2Mb)
• Getting Around [p. 121-159] (1.2Mb)
• Sights [p. 160-277] (1.8Mb)
• Outside Peripherique [p. 278-317] (1.4Mb)
• Good Loo Guide [p. 318-336] (1.4Mb)
• itineraries [p. 337-350] (1.7Mb)

If you download a PDF please send us a donation of US$3, €3 or £2 for each one.

Note that there is limited updated information available, but we do not have the capacity to undertake more work at the moment.

Access in Paris is researched by Pauline Hephaistos Survey Projects (PHSP). It is based on the experience of disabled people travelling around and provides physical description of places.

If you go to Paris, and have experiences which relate to the accessibility (or otherwise) of the transport system, accommodation and of the sights and places of interest, please let us know. If people with disabilities share experiences of getting around, this will enable us to help and advise others – in a practical way.

In 2004 a new guide was published in French called Paris en fauteuil (Paris by wheelchair). It’s quite small and its scope is much more limited, but it is really good, and has much the same approach as we have, describing things ‘as they are’. It’s written by Lucie Fontaine and Jean-Baptiste Nanta, and published by Parigramme. ISBN 2-84096-350-7. It has a particularly useful section on accessible cafés. We recommend it, and are hoping to work with the authors when researching and writing the new Access in Paris.

We are working with the Association des Paralysés de France (www.apf.asso.fr) and with a group called Mobile en Ville (www.mobile-en-ville.asso.fr) who, among other things, have mapped the pavements in the whole of Paris for their surface and the height of any ramped kerbs. The maps and other useful information is held on their website.

Also available is a guide for travellers with limited mobility called Rick Steves’ Easy Access Europe (ISBN 1-56691-668-2) which has a big section on Paris. In our view it is written more for the disabled walker than for a chair user, but nonetheless has some useful information, well presented in a chatty readable style.

The guide contents include:

• Introduction
  • How the guide is arranged
  • Units and definitions
• General information
  • Car hire
  • Coach and minibus hire
  • Climate
  • Currency
  • Equipment repair and hire
  • Information services and disability organisations
  • Insurance
  • Maps and guides
  • Medical advice and emergencies
  • Tour companies
• Travelling to Paris
  • Driving
  • Ferry crossings
  • By train (through the Tunnel)
  • By air
• Accommodation
  • Hotels
  • Hostels
  • Camp sites
• Getting around in Paris
  • Driving and parking
  • Taxis and adapted vehicles
  • By bus
  • By Metro and RER
  • By SNCF train
  • Boat trips
  • Specialised and adapted transport
• Sights and interesting spots
  • Central Paris
  • Outside the Périphérique
• The Disney complex
• The good loo guide
  • (a unique feature of PHSP access guides)
• Recommended itineries
• Maps and artwork to illustrate accessibility