Overview

There are so many interesting buildings, historic courtyards, museums and churches that you will want to explore, but it isn’t always straightforward. The city centre has been helpfully pedestrianised, though delivery vehicles are allowed in during the morning and streets get blocked. Cyclists and scooter and motorbike riders roam freely in this area and can be a hazard to the unwary. There are lots of cobbles and such dropdowns as there are aren’t always easy to navigate. The pavements in the historic centre are often completely blocked by pavement cafés and parked bikes, forcing the wheelchair user into the path of oncoming and often uncompromising cyclists.

Transport & Parking

We didn’t use any parking. The buses are wheelchair accessible, though the compact nature of the historic centre meant that we didn’t need to use them.

Access

See comments above. Most museums and churches are wheelchair accessible as are many shops, bars and restaurants.

Toilets

As in most Dutch cities, there are few public loos and even fewer wheelchair-accessible loos. In Haarlem you depend on finding restaurants or museums which have them. The train station has an accessible loo but it’s ten minutes’ wheel from the centre and we didn’t sample it.

Staff

The locals are very friendly and most speak English fluently. Five stars for helpful pedestrians, waiters and hotel staff. The cyclists , on the other hand, can be a real menace,

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Despite all the abovementioned drawbacks, Haarlem is a lovely city and well worth a visit.

Photos