Ten years ago it was difficult to find any book that adequately addressed accessible travel. True, there were a few independent travelogue offerings, but most just glazed over important access details and trip planning logistics. Happily, times have changed. Today, with the aging of baby boomers, a term that describes Americans born in a period of increased birth rates following World War II, there is a much higher demand for detailed access information. As a result, there has been almost an explosion of accessible travel titles in the past few years.

At the top of the list is Rick Steves’ Easy Access Europe, which was released in July 2004. Rick Steves is the author of 30 guidebooks and has hosted nearly 100 travel shows on American public television. It’s the first time a major publisher has addressed access in a big way.

This travel guide has listings for accessible hotels, restaurants, and attractions all throughout Europe with an off-the-beaten track focus.

This European travel guide includes listings for accessible hotels, restaurants and attractions in London, Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. All listings are rated for access, but because of the off-the-beaten track focus of Steves’ titles, the majority of the listings are only appropriate for slow walkers (or those people who can do one or two steps).

Still, it’s a useful resource for budget travelers and for people who can make do with less than perfect access. Rick and co-author Ken Plattner did an especially good job on the walking tours, but then again that is Steves’ specialty. By his own admission, complete barrier-free access is a rarity in Europe, but this guide helps wheelchair-users and slow walkers make informed travel decisions. Hopefully, we’ll see more titles in this series, as Steves addresses the subject quite well.

Another European title, The Accessible Guide To Florence, was also released in 2004. Penned by first-time author Cornelia Danielson, this self-published title is packed full of general tourism information, historical background notes and detailed access information.

One of the most refreshing aspects about this guide is that the access information is presented in a meaningful narrative format. For example, instead of just using a pictogram or stating that a building is accessible or not accessible, Cornelia goes the extra mile and lists important access details such as the number of steps, the location of ramps and even the height of small steps or raised thresholds. This attention to detail makes this guidebook a useable resource for everyone from slow walkers to wheelchair-users, as it helps visitors realistically determine if they will be able to access specific attractions.