Wheelchair-friendly Austria: Travel Tips for the "Disabled" Touring Vienna

Vienna, Austria is a great place with a lot of wheelchair-friendly sights and shops to visit. A person with a disability that keeps him or her bound to a wheelchair can often find it difficult to locate local sights and services geared toward those whose travel is limited.

Handicapped-accessible location types are wide, and include shops, grocery stores, sightseeing locations, historical buildings and special hotels. The Vienna tourist board releases a guide for special-needs travelers which lists businesses that are specially set up for those who need assistance, which is available for download on their website.

One of the historical sights which comes highly recommended for those with in a wheelchair is the Emperor's Palace, a fantastic historical building that was built in the year 1569. The Emperor's Palace is located at Rennweg 1, 6020 Innsbruck in Austria. On site at the Emperor's Palace is a charming and totally accessible public maze, complete with some gorgeous fountain displays and a math game.

Absolutely not to be missed if you are traveling in Austria is the amazing Swarovski crystal display, Swarovski Crystal Worlds. This is no ordinary crystal museum; the Swarovski Crystal Worlds has breathtaking, mindblowing artistic displays that are just out of this world. It is difficult to describe this display except to say that it is not what the typical, world-weary traveler would guess a Swarovski Crystal "museum" would be; it is something unique, and once a traveler sees it, he or she may never forget it.

The Swarovski Crystal Worlds museum is generally good for those in a wheelchair. The museum staff will work with the wheelchair-bound traveler to make sure they can get through to view the exhibit. If you are in a large electric wheelchair that is too heavy for their lifts, they will provide you with a wheelchair that will work with their lifts. Swarovski Crystal Worlds hours vary from season to season, but the museum is generally open from arount 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., give or take a half an hour, and are closed on holidays such as Christmas and New Year's. Admission is 9,50 Euro, about $12.

When traveling in a wheelchair, it is always necessary to take precautions and do research in advance to ensure that your visits run smoothly. However, when traveling overseas, it is often difficult to find information on which local businesses and locations would make your visit to the country the most stress-free.

Resources (and great websites to visit):

Swarovski Crystal Worlds: http://kristallwelten.swarovski.com/
Handicapped and Disabled Resources in Innsbruck: http://www.innsbruck.info/xxl/_site/innsbruck/_lang/en/_area/478344/_subArea/835751/index.htm