Mobility/Transport Series:
Using a wheelchair in the Louvre
You don’t think about dis-ability until you have an aging family member or you yourself are in such a position. I will talk about the recent visit of my mother to the Louvre and some actionable insights at the end for museum practitioners (and for the Louvre).
My mom is a mobile individual but she has a bad corn on her foot and with ill-fitting shoes on her first few walking days in Paris — that spells trouble. She was suffering by the time we were scheduled to visit the Louvre on the second day upon her arrival. So we both decided that the best decision was to get a wheelchair for her for the entire 4 hours that we were scheduled to visit there.
Based on previous visits, I already know that tourists who visit the Louvre end up being too exhausted and cranky (I know I was). So, by doing the dis-abled tour, you will significantly slow down your “checklist pace,” and benefit from taking the time and maintain your energy up until the end.
TAKEAWAY: Wheelchair tours slow you down. But the lack of speed forces you to appreciate the ignored treasures of the Louvre and maintain your energy (and sanity) at the end.
Step 1: The wheelchair office is tucked away under the Richelieu wing staircase. The advantage is that there is hardly a lot of people who use it and access is free. One glaring problem is that it is generally not visible and you will spend a bit of time looking for this.
Takeaway: From the main entrance, let the guard indicate which side you need to go to.
Step 2: New visitors benefit from audio guide (5 EUR). I highly recommend it, if you did not download any visitor trail tour guide on your phone.
Once you get a wheelchair, the challenge is getting to Level -1 where all the audio guides are located at the entrance of every gallery wing. For the able bodied, it is as easy as riding any one of the escalators marked in blue Xs below.
For wheelchair elevator access, this gets confusing. In my drawing above, I indicated elevator D/E as my access point. But I could be mis-remembering and actually might be restricted to access point by the Petite Gallerie in which I had to exit at 100 entrance way to reach Level -1 and then go around via the Sully wing to take Elevator H upstairs.
If we follow the map, with wheelchair access lift symbols, you are only left with 2 access points. One is hidden behind the Visitor Assistant Centre which will lead you to the Petite Gallery. The other main access point is the elevator beside G. The special needs map is no different.
This brings me to the crucial issue of specific points of access for wheelchairs.
a. Not all elevators allow for wheelchair access. The symbols with the people inside the squares do not necessarily allow for wheelchairs. This is according to the ushers, yes, I had to consult ushers because the map is unusable. I am unsure why lifts are segregated for able and dis-abled users.
b. Not all elevators on the map take you to all floors. In other words, there are certain lifts that services certain floors and galleries. That makes it even more difficult to navigate and figure out the three different floors of the Louvre.
Map for first and second floor: check for lift inconsistency. Using the same map as you see now, you yourself will be confused.
Takeaway: There needs to be a clean map for wheelchair access (blurring out the regular able-access features) indicating gallery access points, stairs (how to avoid them), and how to get to wheelchair only lifts.
Throughout my visit, I never got the navigation fluency based on the existing maps. The maps attempted to put together information for able-bodied and dis-able bodied people together. The result is, a poor map that offers little help in locating and getting there for all parties. You need to ask ushers every time you have the chance. When you are in the wheelchair, they can become really gracious. So the visit becomes a little less frustrating. Nonetheless, the navigation map can be improved by providing a map that serves wheelchair (or stroller) map guides.
As a warning to the reader, the map makes you think that all the wings and galleries are smoothly integrated (grey area) and that you can easily cross from one wing to the other. NO. That is not the case. Some areas are walled off. Some areas have stairs as deterrent. One is not sure if there is an automated ramp available. If you look at the map above, it is not truly clear where or how the access points in the galleries are related.
Let me get back to my journey. We wanted to head to Level -1 for the audio guide stand, then head to the Mona Lisa on Level 1, Room 711. Following the wheelchair symbols, I can only have two access points. One is behind the Visitor Assistance centre that will take me to the petite gallery and exit to 100 to get an audio guide or around to any of the galleries. Second, is to take elevator H but this completely disappears in the succeeding floors above and is labeled C (see maps below).
If you take elevator G, then you are able to go through all the floors, but with restricted access around the Richelieu and Sully galleries. It is not clear in the Level -1 illustration but will be clearer on Levels 0 or -1 illustrations. Elevator G is surrounded by stairs as barriers! No way out?
Our first stop was to go to the Mona Lisa on Level 1 the Denon Wing and quickly cross that off our list. So from H elevator access, we have to switch to elevator I/J. I am unsure where Elevator H went or is re-labeled to Elevator C.
To get to the Mona Lisa, there is only one clear path. There is only Elevator C!! One secret entrance is that from Room 705 with the lovely ceiling paintings, the staff opens a door that directly brings you back and forth from Room 711. This was definitely a relief but only open for wheelchair access.
You are beginning to see how the options become really focused and limited for those in wheelchair. We are basically limited around the Red gallery. It is not bad since my mom did want to see the other paintings in the area. To be honest, to move up and down in different floors was cumbersome and time consuming.
Takeaway: By having a wheelchair or stroller access only maps, visitors and caregivers can plan out their visit more efficiently, saving time, frustration, and confusion.
The good news: when you are in a wheelchair, you are saved from the crowds of the Mona Lisa with forgettable views (tip: just view the painting from the sidelines for all the able-bodied viewers)
With a wheelchair, you get to have the best seat in front without obstruction.
So that was the best part of going to this gallery! You get a few moments of quiet contemplation in front of Mona Lisa. It is possible. As long as you like and as long as the audio narration. In quiet, in peace.
After a few minutes with her, we proceeded to look around the gallery and enjoying a bit of calm space and seeing Titian treasures almost everyone ignores, until another snag came along.
Final tip for the wheelchair visitor: YES, audio guide batteries die. And you know what happens? You have to go back the maze to get to Level -1 for another audio guide! I am not sure if they can spare you an extra but it will save you from going down and then going back up again (that’s 45 minutes of time that you DON’T have). Or have ushers be prepared with spare ones!
Yes, from this floor, you get to use a shortcut to access the lift. But not by much. Going up and down to the entrance wastes a lot of time! You can of course visit new spaces but if you have targets, it can be frustrating. If you are a bit more flexible with your interests, the wheelchair forces you to visit spaces you would otherwise ignore at the Louvre.
Once you go back up and down, you get to understand the layout but it comes too late. At the end of the trip, I still could not read the map properly and locate myself.
Before I finish the piece, I have to mention the audio guide. My mom is not tech snazzy and didn’t bother to learn how to use it. So the auto-GPS guide and play feature was pretty good. It doesn’t work as fast or well consistently. There are several steps to get it to play, but it otherwise works well automatically. This is a great feature! (Not all paintings have any narration though so you will skip out on a lot.)
To conclude:
To ease navigation for caregivers for those on wheelchairs or parents in strollers, I suggest the following:
- Create a map that shows specific wheelchair and stroller access points only. This will show clearly where you need to go minus confusing elevators not accessible.
- Create a map with clear indications (possibly color) that go through all at the floors and only those in limited floors. Except for elevator G and H/J (based on the verbal advice of ushers). It is unclear about the other elevators indicated in the map.
- Create a map that show elevated barriers per floor, including stairs, and how to navigate around it. This means that there would be recommended tour itineraries per gallery and floor.
- Allow for extra audio guide units or batteries (even just for the wheelchair guests) or better yet, have ushers carry spare ones in their space. Easy switch with little effort or big change.
Overall, I rate my visit as 6/10. Enjoyed it despite the frustration.
UX Research Proposal: Low to No-Cost
- Use the ushers/reception as your ethnographers — ask them for daily observations for able and dis-abled users (an observational guide online or offline will help you collect information); use them to implement customer service points for wheelchair needs, including arming them with spare batteries or audio guides.
- Interview the ushers/reception how they interpret the map; What ways do they use to navigate the galleries instead of the paper map? Can you integrate their insights and knowledge into the existing map?
- Interview the ushers/reception what are the commonly asked questions and needs of the customers? What area blindspots or signals that are missing?
UX Research Proposal: Some Cost (10–13 pax with snack or meals)
- User journey of wheelchair guests and their caregivers. Tracking online and offline. (identify those with audio guides, without, which floors etc.)
- Tracking wheelchair guests but also families with strollers.
- Track identified guests through their gallery journeys (must be different — different floors, different galleries to identify chokepoints, getting lost points, inaccessible areas)
- Post-visit interview by the cafe prior to departure.
