Written by Lynda
The year was 2000, the month was October, the location was Greece, the historic site … the Acropolis. Yes, you read that right… the Acropolis! We had just climbed to the top of the world… at least the heavens as known to Greece in olden times. We drew in the rarified air of Athena and the other gods and goddesses while surveying the vista of Athens and beyond. While we gazed at the archeological ruins in awe, an American tourist came up and posed the question, “Is there an elevator up here I don’t know about?” Needless to say, we rolled our eyes!
I wish there was an elevator!
I had come prepared to stay below… more than one book in my knapsack to pass the time while my sister, brother-in-law and niece explored the ancient buildings in the sky. My brother-in-law and sister however, insisted they were in good enough shape to get me and the chair to the top. Who was I to argue? I couldn’t lie, I really did want to go up to the sky, take in the vista, and imagine as it was populated five centuries ago.
If we were standing in the same spot today and that tourist asked the same question, I would be able to say, “Yes.” As part of their commitment to the 2004 Olympics, there is now an elevator that one can use to ascend to the heights of the Parthenon.
We made it!
If Greece is your destination (I highly recommend it for its climate beauty, diversity, and heritage /archeological sites). We were there for about a month in the fall and spent time on Corfu, Crete, and Nafplion, Athens, and other cities. At that time accessibility was iffy… I definitely needed able-bodied assistance and I suspect it is still so today, but accessibility was to improve with the advent of the Olympics in 2004. With the discussions available now on the internet, you will have a much more information with which to plan your trip than we did.
Here are a number of web sites to start you on your way.
http://gogreece.about.com/od/disabledtravel/a/greekaccess.htm
Canadian Assisted Travel Society 