As you are wandering the quaint streets of Como city on Lake Como in Northern Italy it is highly recommended to take the Funicolare Como-Brunate to enjoy some spectacular views of the city and the lake. The funicular is a cable car that connects the lake level city of Como with the mountaintop city of Brunate. First established in 1894, this train line has served the area first with steam engines, then electric cars, and now – with a full overhaul in 2011 – fully air-conditioned cars that can carry 81 passengers at a time. The line is 1,084 meters (3,556 ft) long with the initial lower section being in a tunnel and it takes 7 minutes to make the ride from the base to the top.
If you want to see stunning views of Lake Como, its gothic churches, and massive villas, the funicular ride is the way to do it. But is it wheelchair accessible?
I was having a difficult time finding any information online about whether the funicular was accessible or not, so my daughter and I decided to just show up and see. Although it is recommended to purchase tickets ahead of time in the high season, we decided to risk unavailability due to the unknowns. The lower station where you catch the funicular is located alongside the Como Quay just north-east of the city center. I had already discovered that if one sticks to rolling/walking along the lakeside pathway in Como it is a fairly accessible pathway with wide sidewalks, smooth(ish) pavement, and necessary curb cuts, so we took that route directly there. As we moved north towards the funicular station, the pavement became a bit rougher and less well maintained, but I was still able to navigate without much issue.
The early June day we chose to take the funicular was overcast with bursts of rain showers, so while most tourists were huddling inside, we made our slightly damp way to the station, encountered no lines, and inquired about the ride. And yes, I discovered wheelchair users can ride the funicular line. There is room for one wheelchair on each ride up and down (there are 2 cars operating that pass in the middle of the line).
As with most things in Italy, as a person with a disability my ticket on the funicular was free (for most riders a return ticket is €6.60). My daughter’s companion ticket was supposed to be a discounted amount, but the attendant couldn’t figure out how to enter that in the system so just gave us her ticket for free as well.
At the lower station there are 2 sets of stairs alongside the tracks. One side is for those exiting the train and the other is for those boarding. There is a ramp that leads to the lowest level of the exit side that is level with the very front of the funicular. Do not wait in the main line with the other passengers as an attendant will have to let you through a special gate onto the ramp to the wheelchair loading area where there is just enough room to wheel onto the front car of the funicular. Once on the train car, there is a small area where a wheelchair can park, some seats behind you, and a slight step-down view area in front of you.
The front of the funicular has the best views and so is a coveted position for many. On the way up a family chose to stand in the step-down very front area which blocked a good portion of my view. On the way down the people who claimed that area were polite enough to sit on the step allowing those behind them a chance to see out as well.
The ride up is a bit unnerving as you are traveling diagonally up a mountainside. It looks as if the ground is falling away from you as you climb higher and higher. But as the city and then lake unfold beneath you, it is truly a breathtaking site.
As we arrived at the top, it was a bit difficult to exit the funicular. The train car was not completely level with the platform, so it was a scramble to try to get my chair over an uneven gap with a couple inch rise. I then exited to a platform where to the left was a set of stairs that most passengers climbed to get to the exit, but there was an attendant at a locked gate that let me go straight out to the viewing platform.
And there were some spectacular views. Ours were somewhat impeded by the rain that day, but it is truly a must see. Unfortunately, I discovered that other than the viewing platform there was very little I could do in a wheelchair in Brunate. Maybe when it is not raining and it is during the high summer season more cafes and shops are open, but the only places we could see that were open were up a couple of flights of stairs. I attempted to travel along the roads but quickly learned that the sloped slippery roads where I was sharing tight spaces with cars were not the most safe. Maybe on a sunny day, a wheelchair user could travel around more, but I found that I was limited to just the views on that particular day.
So, my daughter and I decided to travel back down to Como. We returned to the gate where we had exited before and there was a sign informing us that once the funicular arrived at the station to push a button to signal to the conductor to open the gate. We did so, the gate was remotely unlocked, and we were the first to board the train.
Soon after a couple of very grouchy older women boarded with us, saying (in English) over and over “we local” as if it gave them special rights and they shooed my daughter out of her seat because they wanted to sit there. I did get a better view on the way down thanks to the polite family who sat instead of stood at the very front. When we arrived at the lower station, I positioned myself to exit and as the doors opened attempted to leave, only to have the “local” women push in front of me saying, “we local, we first.” It completely caused me to swerve to avoid colliding with them which placed me in a weird position to try to exit. The train and the platform were again not level, and it was quite a struggle to get off the train.
At the lower train station, I noticed that there was an accessible restroom that I stopped at. It wasn’t perfect and it was not very clean, but the stall was large enough to fit my chair and it had rails for transferring to the toilet. As we left the train station, we noticed that since the rain had stopped the line for tickets was fairly long. So be prepared to possibly wait a few trips of the funicular to be able to get the one spot that wheelchairs can use.
While I could not experience everything that other riders could, as a wheelchair user, I was able to make the ride and experience the lovely views. My only warning is to be prepared to navigate the uneven transfer between the train car and the platform (a couple inch rise). Otherwise, yes, the Funicular is an accessible experience for wheelchair users in Lake Como.
