It is estimated that around one billion people in the world live with some form of disability. This makes it more necessary than ever for cities to make themselves as accessible as possible. A study carried out by money.co. uk looked at the subject by examining the 20 most visited cities in the world. To establish this ranking, several criteria were taken into account: wheelchair accessibility (restaurants, hotels, etc.), parking spaces reserved for the disabled, and airport facilities for the hearing, blind and visually impaired.
Dublin tops the list
The city with the highest accessibility score was Dublin (8.09/10). The Irish capital has one of the most accessible airports of the 20 most visited cities in the world, but also a very high number of parking spaces for disabled people.
No less than 74% of city centre car parks have dedicated spaces. In second place are New York (USA) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). Both cities received a score of 8.03/10. In addition to its JFK airport, which is among the most accessible for people with disabilities, the Big Apple has the highest percentage of wheelchair accessible hotels (36%).
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Los Angeles (USA), Frankfurt (Germany), Milan (Italy), Paris (France) and London (UK) also scored above 7/10 for their accessibility. The French capital ranked seventh, on a par with London (7.24/10), thanks in particular to the large number of parking spaces reserved for disabled people (70%).
It is also worth noting that the city centre with the highest percentage of car parks with spaces for disabled people is Los Angeles (96%). Berlin has the highest number of wheelchair-friendly attractions (43%), including the Berlin Wall and the Brandenburg Gate.
Restaurants in Florence, Rome and Milan (Italy) are the most adapted to people with reduced mobility.
The top 20 most visited cities in the world with the best accessibility for disabled people:
1. Dublin (8.09/10)
2. Amsterdam (8.03/10)
2. New York (8.03/10)
4. Los Angeles (7.50/10)
5. Frankfurt (7.30/10)
5. Milan (7.30/10)
7. Paris (7.24/10)
7. London (7.24/10)
9. Rome (7.17/10)
10. Madrid (7.11/10)
11. Dubai (7.04/10)
12. Berlin (6.78/10)
13. Vienna (6.71/10)
13. Barcelona (6.71)
13. Munich (6.71)
16. Zurich (5.39/10)
17. Florence (4.48/10)
18. Istanbul (4,01/10)
19. Lisbon (3,82/10)
20. Prague (3,23/10)