Travelling to Rome with a wheelchair user.

Rome is not built for wheelchairs; there are hardly any dropped pavements and the roads are mostly cobbled and in disrepair.

However the people are unbelievably helpful. The buses have a ramp which comes out from the middle door. Even if the bus is packed the people will squash up and somehow make room for the wheelchair. Often the buttons on the bus to alert the driver won't work , but the public are so helpful it doesn't matter!

At the Colosseum, disabled visitors are free and so are their carers. You simply bypass the queue and go to the 2nd window where they give you your ticket. Once inside there is a lift.

The roof of St.Peter's in the Vatican is accessible by a lift plenty big enough to take a wheelchair and someone pushing it.  The roof is brick-paved and has some steepish slopes, but the averagely fit carer should be able to get a wheelchair user around up there.  And it's not just a roof with wonderful views - there are loos, a drinking fountain, a shop, a post box and a cafe!  It seems that comparatively few people get up there, too.

The city may not be built for the disabled but the thoughtfulness of the Italian people more than makes up for it.