The easy ones. Every Singapore MRT station has had a barrier-free route since 2006, newer ones two elevators. Taipei Metro is step-free at every station and on every train. Tokyo Metro has a elevator route from street to platform at most stations. Hong Kong and Seoul have a elevator at nearly every station, and Copenhagen’s driverless metro has level boarding around the clock.
London and New York. Around a third of the Tube’s 272 stations are step-free, so plan by the step-free map; every Elizabeth line and DLR station is step-free from street to train, and every bus and every black cab has a ramp. Around a third of New York’s 472 subway stations are accessible. Buses kneel, and an accessible yellow taxi charges the metered fare through the Curb, Arro or Myle apps or on 646-599-9999.
Paris. The metro is mostly stairs, so plan by the bus map. Buses and trams are all accessible, and so are many RER stations.
Hills, cobbles and bridges. Lisbon and Porto are steep. The Santa Justa elevator still joins the Baixa to the Carmo; the Glória funicular is closed since the September 2025 crash until 2029. Rome’s cobbles are tiring and several Line A stations in the center have no elevator, so use Line B and C and the buses. Venice has hundreds of bridges and few ramps: pick one sestiere and move by vaporetto, which is level.
Central Europe and Istanbul. Budapest’s M4 has a elevator at every station, M2 at only three, M3 at the rebuilt ones; the 1896 M1 has none. Over 90 percent of its buses are low-floor, about 30 percent of tram routes. Prague is adding elevators station by station; the old center still lacks them. Istanbul is hills; the Marmaray and the newer metro lines are the level routes.
Airports, hotels and taxis. Book assistance at least 48 hours before each flight through the airline; in the EU and UK it is free. Ask the hotel for a roll-in shower, door width, bed height and a bathroom photograph. London’s cabs and New York’s app taxis carry ramps; elsewhere have the hotel book an accessible car the night before.
Museums. The Louvre, the Uffizi and the Vatican Museums admit a disabled visitor and one companion free. London’s national museums are free for everyone.
On the day. Check the operator’s live elevator status before leaving the hotel; a broken elevator turns a step-free station into a dead end. Note the step-free exit on each stop in Waystop so you are not hunting for it later.