National accreditation schemes and associations, such as Tourisme et Handicap, Destination pour tous and Handiplage, are in place to provide reliable, objective information on the accessibility of tourist destinations.
Tourisme et handicap
The state Tourisme et Handicap mark offers travellers with disabilities the assurance of appropriately adapted facilities in hotels, museums and sports venues. It spans the four families of disability: hearing, cognitive, motor and visual.
Tourisme & Handicap was introduced in 2003 at the end of a collaborative development process involving the French tourism ministry, industry professionals, regional and local authorities and non-profit disability support organisations.
More than 1,300 tourism services (from accommodation to tourist offices, attractions, leisure activities, nature reserves and restaurants) in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region have been awarded this accreditation label and are easily identified by the logo displayed at their entrances. It's your guarantee of an efficient, effective and appropriate welcome!
The handiplusaquitaine.fr website lists the full range of Tourisme & Handicap-labelled accommodation, restaurants and activities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
For more information:
Tourisme et Handicap
Destination pour tous
Created in 2013 by the French ministries for tourism, solidarity and social cohesion, the Destination pour tous label is awarded for 3 years to local authority areas that have developed disabled access for at least two families of disability, and are committed to expanding their range of tourism opportunities and offering new services.
It’s designed to promote those areas that offer a coherent and comprehensive package of services which not only include tourist destination accessibility, but also facilitate everyday life and all forms of travel.
The Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional capital Bordeaux was the first city in France to be awarded this label. In the first stage of its scheme rollout, the city offers an all-encompassing package of services tailored to the needs of people with cognitive and motor disabilities. To maximise opportunities to explore and enjoy the city, the scheme identifies those transport, accommodation options, restaurants, cultural destinations, services, sports facilities and sightseeing destinations that offer facilities for disabled visitors.
Download the 2017 Bordeaux Guide.
For more information:
Marque Destination pour tous
Handiplage
The Handiplage label offers those with reduced mobility a guarantee of safe access to the region’s beaches, and access to special bathing support facilities.
Recognisable by the marine buoy symbol, beaches are labelled at 4 different levels to indicate the equipment and facilities offered: reception area staffed by specialist handiplagiste staff, reserved parking spaces, access ramp, toilets and showers with disabled access, beach mats and tiralos (special wheeled beach chairs that allow you to move around the beach and float in the water).
To find a beach with all these access facilities, go to handiplage.fr
Follow us, the editors of Nouvelle-Aquitaine-Tourisme.com as we show you around… our home.
From the peaks of the Pyrenees to the Marais Poitevin canals via the wharfs of Bordeaux, the beaches of the Atlantic to the shores of Lake Vassivière near Limoges, Nouvelle-Aquitaine is full of fascinating, entertaining stories that will amuse one and all.