Barcelona is the most wheelchair accessible city I have
visited so far in Europe, and thus is my favourite city in Europe. I chose this
city specifically to party and hang out on the beach and I did just that.
ACCOMODATION
I wasn’t able to find a couchsurfing host in Barcelona. I
did receive an offer from one guy, but his elevator was too small. I asked him
to measure it and I determined it was standing room only! … for one person! Why
bother even having an elevator if it’s only good for one person? I have
encountered the problem of small elevators in every European city I’ve visited.
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| My Airbnb host and her roommate |
I booked a room through Airbnb that was located about a
20min walk from the beach. The owner of the apartment was named Oria and she
had two other roommates. It was a very spacious three bedroom apartment. I
slept in Oria’s rather empty room while she slept on the living room couch or
somewhere else altogether. My only issue was that the bathroom doorway was too
narrow and the only way I could get in was by taking the door completely off
the hinges for the duration of my stay. Oria hung up a curtain for privacy. Staying
here was a lot like staying in a hostel. People were constantly coming and
going – mostly friends of the roommates, but also other Airbnb renters. Everyone
was very welcoming and nice. They even cooked a few meals for me and invited me
to hang out with them. It was pretty much like staying with friends. The
exchange of money was more like a token of appreciation and to help cover the
cost of having me there.
I stayed with Oria for 4 days and then moved to an entire
apartment to myself which I gave a tour of in the VLOG. It was a bit further
out from the waterfront and located on a busy street, but the apartment itself
looked completely renovated and furnished entirely with IKEA! Honestly, my
reasons for renting a place all to myself was so I could bring a party home
which almost happened, but not quite. More on that later. I stayed here for
three days and then moved back to Oria’s for the remainder of my time in
Barcelona. I admit it was more fun having people around and being closer to the
beach and La Ramblas.
ACCESSIBILTY
As I mentioned above, Barcelona is a paradise for
wheelchair-users.
Sidewalks
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| Ramps down to the beach |
I don’t know if it’s like this all over Spain, but Barcelona
has very different sidewalks. They don’t have curb cuts per se, but very wide
ramps from the sidewalk to the street. I think these were made for the
motorcycles which are parked on the sidewalks, rather than wheelchairs, but
they are extremely useful. While Barcelona is a flat city, most sidewalks are
paved with some sort of stone. This requires more energy to push and can
possibly slow you down.
Airport
Barcelona–El Prat Airport has the easiest transportation to
the city centre of any airport I have visited… in the world! And I mean that!
As soon as you leave the terminal, you will find the Aerobus stop. Every single
bus is wheelchair accessible! It’s not one of those tall busses that have 5
steep steps to get in. It’s a low floor bus with pull-out ramp at the rear door
– very similar to a city bus. You don’t have to book anything in advance.
There’s a bus every 5 or 10min (24/7) and takes you right to Playa Catalunya in
35min. Cost is 6€ one way and there’s no disabled discounted. I wished every
city had this.
Public Transit
I didn’t use public transit very often so I can’t give too
much advice here. Everywhere I went was within walking distance. I didn’t even
need to use the metro. I did use a tram a few times when I was staying in an
apartment by myself. It’s completely accessible and very easy to use for
wheelchair users. However, the lines are not useful for getting to tourist
attractions.
Beaches
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| Smooth path down to the water |
Barcelona beach is the most wheelchair friendly beach I have
visited… in the world! I seem to be saying that a lot. It beats out Vancouver
and anything I’ve seen here in North America.
There are two levels to the beach. The top level is
street-level and completely flat. To get to the lower level, there are long,
wide ramps everywhere. At beach level, the boardwalk is wide and flat. This
design alone is enough to make me happy because it allows me to walk along the
beach without difficulty. However, there are wooded pathways that go from the
stoned boardwalk right over the sand and down to the water. And there’s not
just one pathway, they’re located about every 50 metres or so. Oh yeah, and
there are restaurants and wheelchair toilets at every station.
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| Dedicated beach area for the disabled |
And to top it all off, there is even a designated beach area
specifically for the disabled! Here they have wooden floors over the sand (with
a covered area, and open area), beach wheelchairs, private wheelchair toilets,
and dedicated lifeguards! Sounds like a resort for the disabled.
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| There is an uncovered and covered area |
I rolled up and down this beach many times, every day. It
was my favourite thing to do in Barcelona.
ATTRACTIONS / SIGHTSEEING
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| Stained glass windows |
Sagrada Familia is a Catholic church designed by the famous
Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. This place is beautiful and unlike any church I
have ever visited. Admission is free for the disabled and an attendant. Go to
the front of the ticket office (don’t wait in line. If anyone asks, just say
you were told go to the front) and obtain your free ticket. The towers are not
accessible because there are stairs to the elevator – talk about a poor design!
After getting your ticket, you will need to go around the block and enter
through the group/school entrance. You may have to wait and get your bags
checked by security before going inside.
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| Very steep ramps |
Warning: Even though Sagrada Familia is wheelchair
accessible, there are some very steep pathways. I am quite strong and can
usually push myself up any hill, but even I had to ask for help here.
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| A mountain of fruit! |
La Boqueria is a large public market right on the main drag
of La Rambla, which goes from Playa Catalunya to the Christopher Columbus
monument. You will find the most amazing food and drinks here and it’s not very
expensive either. My favourites were the fresh fruit juices that were only 1€
each.
Warning: This is a
very busy area and apparently a hot spot for pickpockets. Fortunately, I didn’t
run into any troubles, but I know people who have been victims of pickpockets
in Barcelona. Do a simple search on how
to protect yourself.
The Arc de Triomf is cool to see and fully wheelchair
accessible, unlike the one in Paris. Rambla del Mar provides a relaxing walk
near the sea and yachts.
NIGHTLIFE
This was my main reason for coming to Barcelona – to party!
And boy, I was not disappointed.
There is an area on the beach with a concentration of about
5 or 6 nightclubs. Some of these are restaurants during the day. Wander around
this area any time of the day and you will find promoters handing out passes
for free cover before 1:30am. You heard me right. It was no problem for me to
get into a club before 1:30am, so this essentially meant free cover. Normally it
was 15€. In most of North America, nightclubs close at 2 or 3am, but not in
Barcelona where the party is just getting started by this time. I came to this
area EVERY SINGLE NIGHT because they were open EVERY NIGHT and they were busy
EVERY NIGHT. Not just Friday and Saturday, although they were the busiest on
those nights.
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| Opium Nightclub |
My favourite spots were Opium, Pacha, and Shoku and you will
find mostly tourists here. All were open
until 6am. Drinks are pricey at around 12€ each. The music is pretty main
stream with the DJs spinning top 40, lounge, and hip hop. The bouncers let
everyone in. It’s not like Berlin where they can turn you away for no apparent
reason. Wheelchair access was surprisingly very good. All have some steps, but
I found ramps built in. Opium and Pacha have one of those old school lifts to
get down to the dance floor. It’s one of those lifts that follow a railing and
requires a key and takes forever! It was quite a production whenever I used
these. It was actually just faster to have the bouncers carry me. There were
even single room wheelchair toilets. I usually only encounter these in hotels
or nice restaurants, rarely have I seen one in a nightclub.
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| Pacha Nightclub |
One night I met two girls – one was Brazilian and the other
Argentinian. We were having fun dancing and drinking together. They literally
had to beat other guys off with a stick so I thought ‘great’, she prefers
hanging out with me. When the club closed, we left together. They were still in
party mode, so I suggested going back to my place because I had a 3 bedroom
apartment all to myself. As we were hailing a taxi, that’s when she dropped a
bombshell on me – she said she was a ‘working girl’. My enthusiasm dropped to
the floor at that point. Here I was, feeling like a king because I was leaving
a club with two hot girls and going back to my rented apartment. Little did I
know that they were actually hookers. She did say she was hanging out with me
because she enjoyed my company and told me she couldn’t care less that I was in
a wheelchair. However, I couldn’t help
but feel like the only reason they were hanging out with me was because they
only thought of me as a potential customer. I was also slightly annoyed because
I could have spent time with other girls who were not hookers. So, I politely
declined their offer and put them in a taxi and I… went home… alone. It’s
definitely a story for the books.
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| Making friends wherever I go |
