World Heritage Cities. Thirteen Jewels in Spain

Due to its cultural heritage, Spain occupies a prominent place in the world. Thirteen cities that are part of international distinction recognized as unique sites.


Alcala de Henares, Ávila, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Mérida, Salamanca, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona and Toledo are essential for a tour of the best of Spain.

http://www.ciudadespatrimonio.org/

You can check here accessible accomodation and others things to do and see on these cities.http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?lang=en

Catalonia, tourism for everyone - Accessible establishments and destinations.

http://www.turismeperatothom.com/en/

The Catalan tourism sector is promoting accessibility, thereby giving reality to the principle that persons with disabilities deserve equal conditions in a pluralistic and respectful society

In this web you can find 19 accessible destinations which offer a full range of adapted tourist resources so that everyone has the chance to enjoy Catalonia's important cultural heritage, its impressive landscapes, its rich gastronomy, and even sporting activities.

One stretch of the "Camino de Santiago" is now Accessible.

One of the most innovatory and original bet from the “Junta de Castilla y Leon” to enhance the “Camino de Santiago” on the occasion of the celebration in 2010 of the Jacobean Holy Year is the adequacy of a small section of the route to the requirements of accessibility for people with limited capacity, mainly but not exclusively, with problems of reduced vision.


According to reports “La crónica de Leon”, the Board, through the Natural Heritage Trust of Castilla y Leon has already awarded a work destined to become accessible to disabled people such a stretch of road which will start from “La Cruz de Ferro” monument that leads to the El Bierzo region that descends to the towns of Molinaseca and Ponferrada.


The total budget for this work, which includes a number of other jobs on the road as it passes through Leo, consisting of carrying out tree planting, construction of rest areas and ships with boxes for horses, amounting to nearly one million euros (939,291 euros). Within the set of measures proposed include the construction in the vicinity of the Cruz de Ferro a small car park for disabled.


Also act on two sections of the route, one of another 100 meters and 150 meters where the current slope is 8% too high for the handling of wheelchairs and other types of transport for people with disabilities. It seeks to correct the slope until it was at 6%, as the best technical estimate of these transit vehicles and placing curbs on the sides delimiting the path.


Finally, for the visually impaired identify the different break points of the route, carry out the placement of a wooden beam cross the road. The end result will be a section adapted to a length of 980 meters, very modest beginning, considering that the Camino de Santiago has all the way over 800 miles, half of which run through the lands of Castile and Leon and over 200 in the province of Leon.


The initiative of the Natural Heritage Trust and the Junta de Castilla y Leon is worthy of being highlighted, and the fact that the first stretch of the Camino de Santiago accessible for disabled people in Castilla y Leon is located precisely in the region of Bierzo also should be a source of pride and satisfaction for this region.


There is still a lot of work to be done, since the Camino de Santiago has many black spots and very dangerous crosses several roads in the Community, in the province and in the Bierzo, but something is started. Perhaps it is not unreasonable to think that the next Year of St James, in 2021, all or most dela Pilgrim's Way is tailored to the disabled.


Check here de complete new in spanish:
http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8597%3Acopiame&catid=61%3Anoticias&Itemid=66&lang=es

Guide of adapted & Accessible Tourism in Spain - Equalitas vitae certified

http://www.equalitasvitae.com/en/guia/directorio.php

In this link you will find a directory of accessible and adapted accommodation in Spain certified by the consultants of Equalitas Vitae.

From Equalitas Vitae we worke to create an accessible and quality tourist proposal at national level. Our objective is to promote a tourism in which the disability does not mean incapacity. For it we adapte hotels, rural houses or tourist apartments to offer quality and true information. All the information that appears in this Web of tourist resources has been verified in situ by our own consultants of Equalitas Vitae. Therefore we can offer all series of data on adapted hotels, rural houses without architectonic barriers, accessible apartments and inns, restaurants apt for wheelchairs users and all type of adapted tourist proposal to meet the needs of people with reduced mobility.

All the adapted hotels and establishments credited by Equalitas Vitae have bath adapted equipped with all technical assistance necessary for all kind of users (Grab rails, toilet bars, toilet rise, chair in shower, table or chair of bath ...).
Each establishment has a descriptive card of its conditions in the matter of accessibility to guarantee the usefulness of the services. In Equalitas Vitae we establish two categories of Accreditation: Adapted and Accessible.

The adapted premises.
A building will be considered adapted when it adjusts to the functional and dimensional requirements that guarantee their independent use and with comfort for the people with reduced mobility and without the aid of third person.

The accessible premises.
A building will be considered accessible when without adjusting to all the indispensable requirements to the adapted ones, is possible its independent use and with comfort by the people with reduced mobility, being able to be necessary the aid of a third person at certain times.

Guide of accessible beaches in Spain.

In the web of Discapnet you can find precise information about accessibility of beaches in Spain. Unfortunately the web is only in Spanish.



http://www.discapnet.es/Castellano/areastematicas/Accesibilidad/OcioAccesible/Guiadeplayasaccesibles/Documents/2009/index.htm

You can check here accomodation and others things to do and see on the seaside in Spain.

http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?lang=en

Can you imagine a free vacation without barriers?

http://intercambiodecasasinbarreras.com/index.php?idioma=US

The vacation you can imagine are now possible. As simple as exchanging your house with people who have the same accessibility needs to yours. An Invitation for practical dreamers. Imagine, no matter where you are, you could visit a place and immediately feel at home.

Regardless of language or culture, finding people, organizations, services or any other opportunity to meet any community or country, maintaining the same level of life you have in your environment, making friends and more cheaply.

You can check here accessible things to do and see in Spain

http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?lang=en

100 ACCESSIBLE Tourtis Accomodations For Everyone in Spain. Edited by Predif Assotiation.

You can find in this link the Guide of "100 ACCESSIBLE Tourtistic Accomodations For Everyone" edited by PREDIF, the Spanish Platform for phisical disabilities.

http://www.predif.org/predif/DocPredif/100accesible_tourist.pdf

This information is updated on line in their website with a good searcher (in Spanish)
http://www.predif.org

The City Council of Arona (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) will receive on March, the “Reina Sofía" prize of Accessibility 2009.

The Queen in person will give this prize to the council, who is very proud to receive this distinction, the most prestigious in this matter in Spain.

The recognition given to Arona, aims to the category of Universal accessibility for cities between 10.001 and 100.000 habitants, this prize will be concede also to Hacinas (Burgos) to the category of less than 10.000 habitants, and Santander (more than 100.000).

The aim of these prizes are to reward to the cities that have make a continuously effort, made in a period no lower than 5 years, in the field of Universal accessibility for disabled people, in relation with physical accessibility, education, leisure, culture, sports, transport, tourism and new technologies of information and communication.

More information:

http://www.arona.travel/

http://www.arona.org/portalinterno/fdes_d4_v3.jsp?codMenu=77&language=en

You can check here accommodation and others things to do and see in Canary Islands:

http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=267&lang=en

Welcome Accessible Lanzarote "Islas canarias" in Villas don Pepe.

Villas Don Pepe are the ideal destination for those who desire luxury, space and intimacy in an individual villa with its own heated pool, 4 sleeping-rooms, three bathrooms, air conditioning, huge terrace with many deck chairs, BBQ, private car park and the most complete interior equipment.


The Villas are totally adapted for our wheelchair guests with a disabled bathroom, a pool hoist, spaciousness all around, no barriers, etc. We are awaiting you here in one of the most peaceful and beautiful zones of Lanzarote, Playa Blanca - an old fishing town along the coast of the municipality of Yaiza.

http://www.villasdonpepe.com/

Villas Don Pepe has edited a special guide for disabled about Accessible lanzarote, where you can find accssible information about museums, monuments, parks, Restaurants in the Island.

http://www.villasdonpepe.com/pdf/accesible_en.pdf

You can check here accomodation and others things to do and see in the "Islas Canarias":
http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=267&lang=en

Madrid presents his adapted guided visits.

The Madrid tourism office has presented his 2010 program for people with disabilities.This Touristic and leisure offer has guided visits with special adaptations.

For example, for visual impaired, there is a visit planed with ways to avoid as much as possible arquitecture barriers, added to be attended by guides experts on attending people with disabilities, with voice amplifiers.

For people with audition disabilities, the visits are done with an expert with the sign language (Spanish).

The Tourists with physical disabilities will enjoy a visit without any physical barriers. And if you ask for it previously, a wheelchair can be provided for the visit.

Among the different visits, there is the visit to the “invernadero del Palacio de Cristal de la Arganzuela” , the visit around the “ Gran Vía” and his 100 years of history or the visit of Madrid on XVII century

More information:

turismoaccesibleptm@munimadrid.es

www.esmadrid.com/madridaccesible (change to English on the web)

http://barrera-cero.com/images/noticias/madrid2010.pdf

You can check here accomodation and others things to do and see in Madrid:http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&Itemid=139&lang=en

The "Alhambra de Granada" new accessible destination

The "Alhambra de Granada" was not accessible some time ago, but after several plans of accessibility of the Alhambra, it can be visited partially by people on wheelchair.

Now, it is calculated that around 150 people with disabilities visits this place every day, but in 2010 it is expected that this quantity increases and it is expected as well thas the visit should be more confortable thanks to the project leaded by the "Junta de Andalucía", "la Obra social la Caixa" and "el patronato de la Alhambra".

With this project, the zone of "Palacios Nazaries" will be more accessible, leaving only a 10% not adapted due to the complication of the place.

Now it is available an itinerary accessible for people with reduced mobility, you can check it and downloud it on the Alhambra web.

http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/

http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/fileadmin/contenidos/ficheros/mapa_itinerario_discap_A4.pdf



Source of this new: El Mundo: El conjunto de la Alhambra será más accesible en 2010. (15-11-2009)

Alhambra video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6O5l416EPk




You can check in http://www.barrera-cero.com/ accomodation and others things to do and see in Granada City.


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Creation of the blog

Hello,
Today I start this blog.
I am the administrator of a web of Accessible Tourism on whellchair and Tourism for all in Spain.

http://www.barrera-cero.com/index.php?lang=en

You can find information about adapted accomodation, accessible leisure, and lot of information related in Spain.

This web is mainly in Spanish, but the first level of information is also in English, French and German.

The aim of starting this blog is about publishing the most relevant news in Tourism for all in Spain in ENGLISH.

Best Regards.