Barcelona
- Tourist
Information - Disabled Travellers
Though laws
to guarantee accessibility to all have recently been passed in Spain
in general the facilities for travellers with disabilities are not
ideal. The Spanish National Tourist Office (SNTO) publishes a handy
leaflet for travellers with disabilities which includes a list of
useful numbers and accommodations rated for accessibility. Ramps
and other forms of access are slowly being added to museums, sites
and sports facilities. As a general rule of thumb more modern and
famous city museums will be adapted for accessibility however it
often pays to call ahead and check.
Available from
tourist offices you can find a booklet called Guia d'Accessibilitat,
printed by the Institut Municipal de Disminuits, with a lot of information
on most aspects of life and travel in the city for disabled residents
and visitors. Among other things, you can also find details about
the number and height of steps, width of doors, availability of
ramps, lifts and adapted transport for a variety of museums, theatres,
cinemas and other attractions in the city.
Instituto Municipal de Personas con Disminución de Barcelona
Address: Avinguda Diagonal, 233 planta 1
Tel: +34 934132775
Fax: +34 934132800
Website: Municipal
Institute of People with Disabilities of Barcelona
Travelling on
public transport, especially buses, can be difficult for travellers
in wheelchairs and the metro system is perhaps the least wheelchair-friendly
that can be imagined. A map showing accessible routes for disabled
tourists can be obtained from the Ajuntament Information Office
in Plaça Sant Miquel (Tel +34 932 702 429) or from the Transports
Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) office in Universitat metro station.
TMB Barcelona
Metro
Tel: +34 93 318 074 010
E-mail: relext@tmb.net
Website: TMB
Metro Barcelona
The Organización
Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE) sells a braille guidebook
to Barcelona, provides information about restaurants which have
braille menus, and can arrange trips for blind and visually-impaired
people. Moreover, in 2003 ONCE has developed a system based on GPS
to guide blind people. The system called “Tormes” is a
computer with a Braille keyboard and satellite navigation technology
that gives verbal directions.
ONCE Organización
Nacional de Ciegos
Address: Salvadors, 24
Tel: +34 932 413 206
Tel: +34 933 259 200
E-mail: soi@once.es
Websites:
ONCE
National Organization of Spanish Blind
ONCE
Foundation
Further information
on services for travellers with disabilities can be obtained from
the following institutions:
Cruz Roja
(Spanish Red Cross)
Will assist foreigners with travel arrangements
Doctor Federico Rubio y Galí, 3
28003 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 533 4531
Fax: +34 91 553 2579
Website: Cruz
Roja - Spanish Red Cross
ECOM - Federation
of Spanish private organisations for the disabled
Address: Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas, 562 principal,
2a
Tel: +34 93 451 5550
Fax: +34 93 451 6904
SITPRE Servei
Informació Transport Persones Disminució - Transport
information for people with disabilities
Address: Avinguda Diagonal, 230, 05
Tel: +34 934860752
Fax: +34 934860753
Centre d'Aternció
a Dismïnuits - General information on help for disabilities
Address: Badal, 102
Tel: +34 93 331 21 62
Eurocom Ortopedica
S.A. - Wheelchair and Equipment Repair
Tel:+34 93 788 10 25
Disability affairs are dealt with, principally, by the Ministry
of Social Affairs and, more specifically, by the
IMSERSO Instituto
Nacional de Servicios Sociales
Address: Guinzo de Limia, 58
28029 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 3477000
Web: Imserso
COCEMFE Confederación
Coordinadora Estatal de Minusválidos Físicos
National Coordinating Confederation of the Physically Disabled in
Spain - Specialists in the Field of Travel and Disability
Address: Eugenio Salazar, 2
28002 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 413 80 01
Tel: +34 91 413 80 01
Fax: +34 416 99 99
FEAPS Confederación
Española de Federaciones y Asociaciones Pro Personas Deficientes
Mentales
Address: General Perón, 32 1º
28002 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 556 74 13
Useful
Links
Ministerio
de trabajo y asuntos sociales
Sports
Federation for the disabled
Contacts
for travellers with disabilities
Moving around Barcelona
for disabled people
