Exploring Accessible Switzerland: A Week of Adventure and Stunning Views

In September 2024, I flew to Zürich for a holiday organized by the Claire and George Foundation. They arranged visits to various places and exciting experiences, as well as taking care of all my transportation within Switzerland, accommodation, and tickets. I will share my favourite experiences from the trip in this blog.

Where I stayed

Over the week, I stayed in three hotels in three different parts of Switzerland.

The first was in Lucerne, and it was called Hotel Waldstätterhof —a 3-star hotel. The room was a junior suite, so it had two single beds/double beds in one section and a sofa bed in another adjoining section. The room was decent, but getting my mobile hoist underneath the sofa bed was a bit difficult. We stayed here for three nights before moving on to Interlaken.

The second hotel was the Essential by Dorint, Interlaken, where we stayed for two nights. Here, we had two rooms. I shared a room with one of my caregivers, and the other one got their own room for a couple of nights. This room, again, was not bad; a bit more space would have been easier, though. However, we had to use some cardboard to raise the bed a bit higher to fit the hoist underneath.

Our final accommodation was the Hotel Kreuz in Bern, where we stayed for two nights. This was another junior suite, so we were all in the same room again. For the final night, one of my caregivers booked another room so they could have a night alone. In hindsight, it would probably be better to have two separate rooms for the whole week so the caregivers could have a room to themselves some nights—not that I am a noisy sleeper!

What I did

Paragliding

The highlight of the week was paragliding, which I did on the final day before going home.

It was a beautiful, clear, sunny, and warm day, so the conditions were perfect. Once we had driven up the mountainside to the launching point, I had to get transferred into a different kind of wheelchair. It was like a tricycle with a metal frame and a harness. The parachute would be attached to this frame, and the pilot would be behind me.

We waited on a grassy slope where many other paragliders had gathered. One by one, they ran down the hill, the parachute billowing above them before it took their weight and carried them up into the sky.

Eventually, it was my turn. The pilot ran downhill, pushing me along before we took off. check out the video below

I had been thinking about whether I wanted to do it all week. Would I be scared? Would I freak out? However, as usual, things are worse in imagination than in reality, and paragliding was no exception.

Once airborne, I was too engrossed in admiring the beautiful views – the green tree-covered mountains, the bright blue lake, and the snow-capped peaks in the distance – to worry about anything else.

It was a fantastic experience.

Rhine Falls

Rhine Falls is the largest waterfall in Europe on the Rhine River. It is 150 m wide and 23 m deep. I went on a boat that sailed up close to the waterfall. The boat went into the white-churning waters, where you got sprayed by mist before being pushed away by the force of the water.

The boat had a steep ramp for wheelchairs to embark on, and there was a narrow walkway down the length of the boat with seats on either side. I couldn’t turn around once everybody else was on board, so I had to stay facing one direction.

It was a good experience, and the waterfall was quite spectacular.

You can’t go to Switzerland without going up at least one mountain, so I went up two: Mount Rigi and Harder Kulm.

Mount Rigi

Firstly, we went to Mount Rigi, starting our journey in Lucerne. First, we had to walk from our hotel to the ferry terminal on the edge of Lake Lucerne. We boarded the boat and went up to the top deck by a lift.

 The boat was very accessible, with a ramp for embarking and disembarking, a lift to all floors, and accessible toilets. There was also a good amount of space to move around the vessel.

The trip across the lake to Vitznau took about an hour, so there was plenty of time to admire the mountain scenery surrounding the lake.

Once we arrived at Vitznau, we boarded the cogwheel mountain train, which took us on the half-hour journey to the summit of Rigi. On the way, you get spectacular views of the lake and the mountains.

Once the train arrived at its destination near the summit, we disembarked. I went up a pathway to the very top to a viewing point which is 1797 m above sea level. There’s also a café on a viewing platform where you can have something to eat.

The best part was using an all-terrain powerchair on hiking trails on the mountain. The all-terrain powerchair was available to rent at Rigi Kaltbad. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a hoist, so we had to ask a guy passing by to help lift me into the chair, which they kindly did. Once in it, I was strapped in with the harness and found it quite comfortable. I couldn’t drive it myself because the control was too far to the side, so my carer drove it for me.

I found it a relatively smooth ride. In my regular power chair I can feel every bump in the road, but with the all-terrain one, it was no problem. Although there were a lot of bumps, it was not bad at all and well worth it to experience going where I wouldn’t usually be able to.

On the way back down the mountain, we took a cable car instead, because why not? Both the cable car station and the cable car itself were accessible, and you got beautiful views when going down.

Harder Kulm

Harder Kulm is a mountain next to Interlaken, which stands 1322m above sea level.

We had to take the funicular railway to reach the top, which goes up a steep track. Inside, passengers stand on different levels, so they are always horizontal even though the cabin is not. I was right at the front next to the driver, which was a bit cramped but comfortable.

When we arrived at the station above, we took a short walk to a restaurant and viewing platform, where we had lunch. It’s a lovely place to eat, where you can admire the mountains as you sample Swiss food.

After lunch, we went on a nearby viewing platform that stood out from the mountain’s side, along with many other tourists, and took some photos.

Aare Gorge

The river Aare created Aare Gorge by cutting through the rock over thousands of years to form 50-meter-high cliff faces between which the river flows. A walkway through the gorge has been open to the public since the 1880s, and some of it is accessible to wheelchairs.

The entrance to the gorge and some of the walkways were easy for me to drive through. However, the rock overhangs the walkway in some parts, making it impossible for me to pass. Fortunately, there was a tunnel cut through the rock that I could drive through to get past the inaccessible parts.

The river’s water thundered through, and plants grew on the cliff faces, which reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park. I can imagine a pterodactyl flying through the gorge.

Lucerne

Lucerne was my favourite of the three cities we visited because it was pretty and accessible. There was a big lake next to it, aptly named Lake Lucerne, and you could see mountains beyond it.

Lucerne had good accessibility, too and I didn’t encounter any cobblestones whilst those there. The pathways all seem to be smooth.

There was a pretty wooden bridge called Chapel Bridge, which crosses the river Reuss. It’s a symbol of Lucerne and one of Switzerland’s tourist attractions as it is very picturesque. The bridge was originally built in 1365 but most of it burned down in 1993. It was rebuilt in 1994.

There were steps at each end of the bridge, but they had a platform lift to make it accessible. However, I got stuck at the top when I used it and couldn’t get back down. The lift didn’t want to move.

So I managed to get off it and wander along the bridge, taking photos. We couldn’t figure out what to do with the lift, so someone called the fire brigade. I was expecting a full fire truck with flashing lights to come along, but disappointingly, it was just one guy. By the time he arrived, we had managed to get the lift working so I could return to terra firma.

I have a history of getting stuck on this type of lift, so maybe it’s just my luck! It is a lovely bridge, though.

Conclusion

Switzerland is a beautiful place to visit, and it has good accessibility. Susanne and Rainer from The Claire and George Foundation were very helpful in organising all my activities, accompanying me on trips, and being my guide. I was in contact with them through WhatsApp every day, so I could message them if anything went wrong. So I would like to say a big thank you to them for their help and company. Switzerland is an expensive country but in my opinion it’s worth it to see its beauty.