MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Steepness of streets in some towns: mobility issue
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Hi to all,
I’m just hoping that someone will be able to let me know if the places listed below are suitable for someone who is a bit unsteady on her feet and a husband in a wheelchair. We were both very capable and independent but age and surgery have taken its toll and so now it is always wise to ask
I’ll just list the places that we are staying at and maybe a few of the sights that we are planning on:-
Luzern, 3 nights here, Mount Pilatus, Mount Rigi, lake cruises and tours around town
Interlaken, 4 nights, Lake Thun, Lake Breinz, Mount Wengwn, Jungfraujoch all depending on weather.
Montreux 3 nights, nothing planned here, open to suggestions
Zermatt, 3 nights, Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Gornergrat all depending on weather then regional trains to….
Chur, overnight then catch Bernina Express to Tirano, then private tour to….
Lugano, 2 nights, nothing planned yet, then…
Gotthard Express route…regional trains to Fluelen and possible ferry to Luzern for 0/night stay
Engelberg, 2 nights, hoping to visit some swiss friends and Mount Titlis weather permitting.
back to Luzern for o/night and then on to …
Zurich, o/n stay …..then flying out to Rome for a 30 night cruise.
Thanking all for their contributions ………Carrie
Carrie
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Hi Carrie,
No towns strike me as overly steep no. Certainly you may be limited in how much exploring you can do on the mountain tops.:) I’m sure you’ll enjoy that cruise after this part of your trip!
When you say Mount Wengwn….are you referring to the town of Wengen? It is on a hillside between Männlichen and Lauterbrunnen and it is hilly and not very flat for walking around.
Montreux has some great activities, we list quite a few here: http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux/activities. The vineywards nearby are very popular as are the nearby towns of Gruyeres (cheese factory) and Broc (Chocolate factory).
Have you settled an a rail pass to get around? Some thing like the Swiss Travel Pass would make a lot of sense for you: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass
Hi Lucas.
My memories of two or three stays in or trips to Montreux always include hills when consulted. I think it is very hilly.
Slowpoke
Hello Carrie
Having had several knee surgeries I used a walking stick on our recent holiday in Switzerland and was able to walk 12 kms and sometimes more every day. I had no problem in the places you mentioned . You will have no problem in Lucerne although some streets in Old Town may be a bit difficult for wheelchair.
The steps to and from funicular to Pilatus are awkward but manageable with help. Lucas, Slowpoke, is Pilatus posible for a wheelchair?.
I found that people were always helpful. Enjoy your holiday.
Hi everyone,
Paying close attention to the location of accommodation can make a significant different. Slowpoke mentioned Montreux, which is indeed hilly. So streets going up or downhill can be a challenge. However, there are streets running parallel to the slope too (not sure how to describe that better as a non-native English speaker). Such streets are fairly even. Picking a hotel on the same street as the train station will be much more convenient for your daily commute than one that is higher or lower. Grindelwald is like that too, and Lugano (but there’s a funicular from the station to the center which is wheelchair accessible as far as I know). The center of Zermatt is fairly flat, as well as Chur, Engelberg and Interlaken. Hotels close to train stations (not necessarily the same street) can be found here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ho tels/railstations
Another thing to keep in mind is that some streets in historical town centers have cobblestones. So less convenient with a wheelchair.
Mount Pilatus is accessible with a wheelchair: http://www.pilatus.ch/en/info rm/traveling-with-a-disability/.
Hi Arno and Connie-
A topographic or contour map can tell you how steep a hillside is. Arno uses them while hiking.
I gave Connie a link to this map when she was thinking about Wengen.
This one from the Federal Land Office, SwissTopo, shows altitudes, and it has contour lines.
Here it is for Montreux:
1.- Altitudes – The altitudes are specified here and there, in meters above see level.
The lake shore promenade is essentially at lake level , that is, 374 meters. It is level…same altitude in different places along the promenade. The station, by the red letters “Montreux” is at about 400-402 meters. The altitude difference is 26-28 meters.
Checking the distance scale at the lower left shows that the horizontal distance from the station directly down to the lake shore is somewhat under 200 meters…..maybe 160. A hillside that rises 26-28 meters in 160 meters is very steep.
2.- Contours –
These links explain how to use the contour lines. They are the light brown wiggly lines. They run at constant altitude. As you go from one line to the next, anywhere, you gain or lose the same exact altitude.
Here is a link to a google search on the topic.
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+read+a+contou r+map&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab
two useful ones:
sectionhiker.com/how-to-read-a-topographic-map/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIPghsEAwUw
You’ll notice on the last link the words “contour interval” That is the altitude difference between two lines. On some maps every 10th or 5th line is heavier.
On the Swisstopo map, at the magnification showm, the contour interval is 20 meters. Every 5th line is darker, at exact 100 meter intervals…1000 meters, 1100 meters, etc. You can see that more clearly if you move the map around a bit.
Indeed, some streets that run across the slope, as opposed to up and down the slope, are fairly level. Some near the station are.
As you zoom out, the contour lines may not show, or may show with a larger contour interval.
The closer the contour lines, the steeper the slope
Here is Luzern. At the upper left, Chateau Gütsch at 522meters, is on a steep hill. The main downtown area is quite level at around 435-440 meters. The part of the old town across the river is only slightly higher. It’s hard to find the contour lines there, even when zoomed in a lot.
The old town, if I recall correctly, is not paved with rounded cobblestone, but with what we call in the USA “Belgian Block.” Wiki calls them “setts.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Cobblestone
In that link, on the right, the last picture shows “setts.”
The surface, although not perfectly smooth, is fairly even. If I pull rolling luggage across that type of pavement, I can hear the click-click, but it presents no obstacle to rolling. It would provide essentially no resistance to a wheel chair.
In general, my memory tells me that the streets in Switzerland paved with stones almost always use the almost flat, rectangular kind of blocks..
Slowpoke
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