Travel

Tali, the writer behind the Roll with a Smile blog, became a full time wheelchair user five years ago, as her FSHD progressed. As her body weakened, her love for travel and adventure did not. Unfortunately, she also learned that there was very little reliable accessibility information for the disabled traveler. Tali shares accessibility information in both her home country, Israel, and internationally as she travels. In addition to her large blog following, she is active on Instagram with over 9,000 followers and content reaching up to a million viewers. You can read the original article here.

By Tali

Visiting Switzerland has been on my bucket list for at least a decade. Something about its stillness and striking beauty attracted me like a magnet. In 2014, a still-walking me had a vacation planned – plane tickets bought, a nice hotel on lake Lucerne booked, rental car ordered. But then another war with Gaza began, and having fun while my family was under a missile attack didn’t feel right.

Now, eight years later, I finally made it! Some wheelchair-accessibility-related changes in the itinerary and some adjustments to allow for a slower pace and plenty of rest, but I made it, and Switzerland didn’t disappoint.

I found Switzerland to be mostly wheelchair-accessible and easy to navigate. We visited some small towns and villages such as Thun, Spiez, Interlaken, Grindelwald, and Lauterbrunnen, and bigger cities like Zurich and Lucerne. I was able to rent an all-terrain hiking wheelchair and enjoyed a beautiful hike in the mountains. I even found a paragliding instructor who takes wheelchair users on tandem flights in a specially designed chair, but our schedules didn’t work out. Next time! We traveled by trains, buses, funiculars, cableways, and boats, and everything went smoothly. I have written a detailed post about public transport, assistance booking and travel passes here.

One thing to remember when planning a trip to Switzerland is that it’s expensive! Very expensive! To minimize money-spending, we often bought ready and packed food at supermarkets and ate at restaurants only once a day. Conveniently, there’s a supermarket at every train station, and they all have a wide variety of sandwiches, salads, sushi, etc.

I haven’t used any accessible travel agencies or services on this trip, and only one non-disabled companion to assist me. Remember that some cableways, funiculars, and trains can accommodate manual/lightweight wheelchairs only; check in advance.

So here’s our eight-day itinerary that began and ended at Zurich airport. I hope you’ll find some helpful information for your Switzerland trip. All the accessibility information of the hotels we stayed at is summarized here.

Day 1 – Zurich to Interlaken, Harder Kulm

We landed at Zurich Airport at 11:30 am and, in less than an hour, had our luggage and were ready to go. The assistance team was prepared with my wheelchair at the aircraft door and accompanied us all the way to the baggage claim area. Zurich airport is enormous, so book assistance if you have difficulty walking long distances! Also, in current travel conditions, the lines are ridiculous, and everything takes longer, so being accompanied by the assistance team and cutting all the lines, was priceless!

The train station is outside the arrivals terminal, in a mall-looking building with some shops, restaurants, and tram stations. That’s where I purchased a Switzerland sim card, as I knew I would need a local number for train assistance booking. As a physically disabled person, unable to use the inaccessible airplane restroom, I hadn’t eaten or drank for about 16 hours by then. The first thing on the agenda? Coffee and food. With that taken care of, we embarked on a three-hour train ride to Interlaken (via Lucerne). There was a faster alternative for reaching Interlaken (via Berne), but it required assistance booking in advance. The option we chose allowed self-boarding at all stations, and we got to enjoy the breathtaking views of Lucerne-Interlaken part of the scenic GoldenPass Line. 

We arrived at Interlaken-Ost train station around 5 pm and, after a 10-minute walk, reached our first destination – Hotel Artos. (my accessibility review of the hotel is here).

Interlaken was chosen as our base for the Jungfrau region because of its central location and proximity to main transportation lines. Had we traveled by car, we’d have probably stayed in a smaller, less touristy, and less expensive place.

With only a few hours till dark and tired from the journey, we decided to take the Harderbahn to the Top of Interlaken, have dinner at the Harder Kulm restaurant, and enjoy the view. That was one of only a few times we encountered a lack of accessibility information. Detailed directions to the Harderbahn accessible platform and our experience at Harder Kulm are here.

Day 2 – Thun, Spiez, lake Thun

After hotel breakfast, booking train assistance, and stopping by a supermarket, we headed to Thun. (30-40 minutes from Interlaken-Ost).

Thun is a charming town at the north-western end of Lake Thun and is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland. We didn’t visit the famous Thun Castle, as it’s not wheelchair-accessible. Instead, we wandered the (only partially cobblestoned) streets of Thun’s old town, visited its market, had our supermarket lunch on the bank of river Aare, and just enjoyed a peaceful, sunny day.

Thun is also the closest point where we could purchase a eurokey. The key costs 25 CHF and can be used for accessible restrooms/elevators/etc.. throughout Switzerland and some other European countries. I recommend purchasing or borrowing such a key; we used it several times. Here is the official eurokey website (German) for all the information.

From Thun, we took the lake Thun boat to Spiez. The boats are operated by BLS, with wheelchair-accessible main decks and restrooms. Manual/lightweight wheelchair users can access the upper deck via the elevator on some boats.

Spiez is another small town on lake Thun, with another inaccessible castle, Schloss Spiez, and mindblowing views. We visited Spiez mainly because of J’s love of vineyards and grape growing. Since visiting Switzerland’s wine regions wasn’t possible this time, we found a local winery Spiezer. We rolled through their beautiful vineyard overlooking the castle, enjoyed wine tasting, and bought some wine to take home. Although the wine tasting area wasn’t accessible, they had a nice outside corner and brought the wines to us.

When we were ready to head to the train station, happy and a little intoxicated, I noticed that my wheelchair battery had about 25% left. The train station was about a kilometer up a very steep hill, and the weather forecast didn’t look promising either. Somehow we made it with 8% battery left, but without pre-booked train assistance. Instead of calling for assistance and waiting for an hour, we jumped on the first bus to Interlaken. As J was preparing to push me from the main bus terminal to the hotel in the rain, we heard “Next stop, Atros Zentrum” – the bus had a stop at our hotel! Call it divine intervention or luck, but we made it with 5% left on my battery just as the first raindrops started falling.

It was an order-in, dinner on the balcony, with pouring rain and mountain air kind of evening, and it was great!

Day 3 – Accessible hike in Stockhorn, Switzerland

Stockhorn is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located to the southeast of the town of Zermatt. Suppose you wonder why we chose this mountain out of all Switzerland has to offer. The answer – all-terrain hiking wheelchairs!

To reach Stockhorn from Interlaken, we boarded a train to Spiez, then switched to another train to Ringoldingen. You can get off at a closer, not wheelchair-accessible train station if you can climb stairs, Erlenbach i.S.

Ringoldingen is a 20-25 minute walk/roll through the beautiful Swiss countryside to the Stockhorn cableway station. The road is paved and smooth but steep at times.

The bottom cableway station is wheelchair-accessible(ish) – steep road, a small step, lack of signage. To borrow an all-terrain wheelchair costs 25 CHF, and you’ll need to reserve it a week in advance. The rental point is at the middle cableway station, Chrindi, and so is the accessible hiking trail and an accessible restroom. You can get a discount if you have SwissPass or another travel card. If not, a combined (cableway+wheelchair) ticket to Chindi is 59 CHF. For your companion, the price is 42 CHF.

After a short explanation, the staff strapped me in and sent us on our way. We turned the corner, and I froze – a 45-degree decline down the mountain. The staff guy saw my whitening face, laughed, and said, “just try; you’ll be fine.”

A circular trail surrounds a small mountain lake and then climbs back up the mountain. It’s about 4 km, with a lakeside picnic area. The pictures don’t do the beauty justice, but we tried.

We decided to skip the top station. If you choose to go there, you’ll have to return the all-terrain wheelchair and purchase another ticket. According to the staff, the top station is wheelchair-accessible, including the tunnel and the viewing platform. You’ll see the snow-covered tops of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau on one side and the city of Thun on the other.

For me, it was the first hike since my 2009 trip to Ireland, and it was amazing to be in nature and not just as a spectator. 100% recommend!

The contact details for wheelchair reservations and all the information are here.

Day 4 – Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald, and Launterbrunnen

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe, is the highest railway station in Switzerland and Europe. Many refer to it as a “must-see” on every Switzerland trip, but I am a little hesitant whether to recommend it or not. The views are undeniably magnificent, and the Eiger Express cableway and the mountain train were both very accessible and fantastic experiences. But it’s costly, freezing, and as a wheelchair user, I couldn’t participate in most activities when up there. In hindsight, I probably would have chosen not to go, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great day.

From Interlaken, there are two ways to reach Jungfraujoch. One, via Grindelwald Terminal and Eiger Express cableway to Eigergletscher station, the other via Launterbrunnen or Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and then a cogwheel train to Eigergletscher station.

We chose the first both ways and gave up the cogwheel train ride, although many travelers recommended it. The reasons: faster, fewer transfers and self-boarding at every station allowed us to be spontaneous with our time. If you want to experience both, you can go up one way and down the other. Both options are wheelchair-accessible, but the latter requires assistance. The full-price ticket from Interlaken-Ost to Jungfraujoch is 235 CHF, but with various travel cards, there are discounts.

At Jungfraujoch, mountain tunnels connect between the train station, souvenir shop and cafeteria, viewing platform, ice palace, and an outdoor activities area with a zipline, snowy hiking trail, rock climbing, etc. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are tiny; better to use one at the Eigergletscher station.

I brought a hat and a scarf all the way from Israel specifically for Jungfrau and left them at the hotel that morning. Don’t be me! It’s freezing in the tunnels and very windy on the viewing platform. We braved the tunnels cold for a bit, took pictures of the views, and even pushed my wheelchair a couple of meters onto the snow. While I was occupied with trying to keep the circulation in my fingers by holding a 5 CHF cup of coffee, J ziplined into the snow and returned with soaked shoes and socks (bring extra if you want to play in the snow). That was our cue to close the Jungfraujoch chapter of our trip. We decided to skip the ice palace, fearing becoming one of its exhibits. Still, from my research, I learned that it’s partially wheelchair-accessible and worth a visit.

We returned to the Grindelwald terminal and took a 5-minute bus ride to Grindelwald, where we bought flip-flops for J’s wet feet and a hat for my burnt face, had a late lunch and wondered the steep village streets. Such a charming place, but if you’re a manual wheelchair user, prepare for a workout! 

Next, we took a train to Lauterbrunnen (via Zweilütschinen). Lauterbrunnen is a beautiful village in the Swiss Alps and a home to the highest free-falling waterfall in Switzerland – Staubbach falls (297m). This time we weren’t so lucky with the wheelchair battery, and J had a workout pushing me to the waterfall.

Be aware that most restaurants, supermarkets, and even kiosks in the area close around 9 pm. We returned around 10 pm, hungry and tired, and luckily found an open by chance, Indian restaurant.

Day 5 – Interlaken to Lucerne

This was our rest day. After four days filled with activities, we just needed to relax. After a short stroll through Interlaken Castle and the former Augustinian monastery grounds, we headed to the beach.

We often saw people swim in the rivers and lakes during our stay in Switzerland, but I could never even come close to the water. We kept asking the locals in hopes of finding an accessible option until our hotel receptionist came through. She told us (under oath not to disclose its location) about a small beach on lake Brienz. The road was mainly paved, and the beach was flat and made of small stones that I could roll on. Not precisely accessible for swimming, but I could at least touch the water. J enjoyed a relaxing swim while I took in the magical views.

After another supermarket picnic, this time on the river Aare in Interlaken bank, we headed to Lucerne (2 hours).

We arrived at our hotel – Ibis Budget Lucerne (my review and pictures here), exhausted. J had a sore throat from all the wet-feet and swim-in-cold-lakes adventures, and I just needed to get out of my wheelchair and stretch. So we ordered in and called it a night.

Day 6 – Lake Lucerne, Burgenstock resort wheelchair-accessible trail

Since it happened to be a Sunday and everything in Switzerland is closed on Sundays, we decided to get out of Lucerne for a short wheelchair-accessible hike. But first, J wanted to attend the Sunday mass, so we headed to the Jesuit Church. It’s wheelchair-accessible and gorgeous, right on the bank of the Reuss River and next to the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke).

After, we boarded a boat to Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock – about 20 minutes trip on Lake Lucerne. Wheelchair-accessible boat, friendly staff, amazing views. The boat docked next to the Bürgenstock funicular station; a ramp and an elevator led us to an accessible funicular platform. Built in 1888, the Bürgenstock Bahn is the oldest electric funicular railway in Switzerland. In 6 minutes, it takes you 400 meters up a cliff, with views of Lake Lucerne and the city of Lucerne. A one-way ticket for both boat and funicular is 43 CHF (without a travel pass).

The Bürgenstock resort includes three hotels, restaurants, and a golf club and is very exclusive and expensive. You can enter a gift shop with a glass-floor viewing balcony from the funicular station. When outside, you’ll see an accessible restroom and a sign pointing you to a circular wheelchair-accessible trail of about four km. The trail goes through the resort grounds, and it’s smooth and easy to roll on. Nature, quiet, mountain and lake views, song of birds – bliss.

On our way back, the funicular got stuck about 5 meters from reaching the platform. Everyone jumped off while we had to wait for it to be fixed in 30°C heat and no AC. It’s not to complain; malfunctions happen. It’s just to highlight the realities of wheelchair life.

We returned to Lucerne and decided to visit the casino since J had never been. The entrance has stairs and a phone number to call for accessibility assistance. J went in and returned with a guard who escorted us through another door to an elevator. Although the casino floor is accessible, if you can’t lift your arms like me and don’t have an elevation feature on your wheelchair, you won’t be able to play. The slots, the bar, and the tables are all high. Also, after visiting casinos in Vegas, this one wasn’t very impressive. We quickly lost our bet-designated amount and headed out.

For dinner, we went to an area recommended by locals – Helvetiaplatz. Many restaurants with accessible outdoor spaces are not as touristy and expensive as the old town or the riverside.

Day 7 – Exploring Lucerne

Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland and is the capital of the canton of Lucerne. It is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and the river Reuss, within sight of the mounts Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps.

We spent the day exploring the Old Town, souvenir shopping, chocolate-and-beer tasting, and enjoying the atmosphere.

The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe and the world’s oldest surviving truss bridge. It’s one of Lucerne’s famous landmarks. The bridge is unique in containing several interior paintings dating back to the 17th century. After a big part of this ancient bridge was destroyed in a 1993 fire, it was restored and recently made wheelchair-accessible.

To cross the bridge, you’ll need a eurokey and someone to help you operate the elevators on both sides. Also, be prepared to become a tourist attraction yourselves as you use the elevator. If you don’t have a eurokey, there are several rental points in Lucern, one at the train station. You’ll find all the information here.

The Old Town is beautiful! Narrow streets, little cafes, shops, and endless cobblestones. About half of the stores weren’t accessible to me, with a step or two to enter. Most curbs are flat, and there are eurokey restrooms at several locations.

Charming town, manageable in a wheelchair except for cobblestones, definitely worth a visit!

Day 8 – Lucerne to Zurich, exploring Zurich

We boarded the morning train to our final destination, Zurich. As soon as we exited the train station, inaccessibility hit us in full power: no curb cuts, tram rails, steep hills, and stairs. After checking into Hotel St. Josef (my review here), we explored the city.

Zurich Old Town is beautiful but very difficult to navigate in a wheelchair. The combination of steep hills and cobblestones was torturous on my back and neck, but I braved it for a couple of hours. 

Grossmünster is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland, and one of the city’s four major churches. The construction of this impressive church dates to 1100, and it has since been rebuilt and renovated several times. It sits on a hill, close to the Limmat river, and its three towers are visible from far away.

The church is wheelchair-accessible and worth a visit, but getting up that hill isn’t easy, especially if you are a manual wheelchair user. 

Across the Limmat, Fraumünster Church is also wheelchair-accessible, but we didn’t visit this time.

The smooth Bahnhofstrasse, with designer and brand stores, was a welcomed break from the shaky Old Town. We didn’t use the trams, but I noticed that most aren’t accessible. To be objective, I would have loved it if I had visited Zurich during my walking days. As a wheelchair user, it was too complicated and inaccessible to enjoy. 

We took the train back to the airport the following morning and said goodbye to Switzerland. The train ride from Zurich to the airport is 10 minutes, fully accessible, with self-boarding.

Until next time!