This is a difficult question to answer. I’d say many parts of the UK have become more accessible for people with a variety of physical disabilities over the last 20 years or so and attitudes are slowly changing for the better to try and create a more inclusive society. 

Tourist attractions like Saint Paul’s Cathedral, West Minster Abbey, The British Museum, Canterbury Cathedral, M Shed museum and SS Great Britain ship in Bristol, the Royal yacht  Britannia in Edinburgh, Stone Henge near Salisbury, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, near Birmingham, now offer excellent audio guides that are easy to operate for blind-visually impaired people. Most of these attractions also have wheelchair access to many parts of their buildings and exhibits. 

There are many other museums, churches, castles, historical houses, gardens, parks  and other buildings and attractions that also offer audio guides or personal guides to enable blind-visually impaired people to visit and gain a good accessible experience. Likewise, many visitor attractions in and around the UK, including in Northern Ireland, are beginning to offer better accessibility to people with a wider variety of disabilities.  

However, this is not perfect and not all buildings and tourist attractions are disabled accessible. In particular, the majority of high street shops and many pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs have access problems for disabled people. Whilst some cinemas and theatres have improved their accessibility by providing lifts and ramps and audio described films-performances, many of these establishments are in old buildings that lack disabled access. Audio description equipment is often faulty and there’s not always enough headphone sets available. 

Public attitudes towards disabled people in general are improving, especially among the younger generation. Nevertheless, many British people still seem unsure how to approach and/or interact with disabled people and continue to make patronising comments and suggestions or ask inappropriate questions. It’s still largely assumed that if a blind or VIP person visits a tourist attraction, shop, theatre, restaurant or any other public building or place, they will be accompanied by someone and if they come alone, then it means they must have some sight! Access to disabled toilets in many buildings throughout the UK is still terrible, especially in older pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

Many parts of the USA are now more disabled accessible, particularly the larger cities like New York, Parts of Washington DC, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin – Texas, San Diego, Las Vegas, etc. Cities that are on a grid system, like the places mentioned above, make it easy to walk around and navigate fairly comfortably  and independently, even if these cities tend not to have audio traffic lights/cross walks. Also, in many American and Canadian cities, such as New York and Toronto, braille information is available on ATM machines and on the handrails of the stairways of the subway/underground stations, telling a person the name of the platform. However, some of the cities in the more rural areas of the US and Canada are less accessible to blind-visually impaired people and a personal vehicle is often needed as walking is difficult to impossible and public transport is limited to non-existent. 

I find Melbourne in Australia reasonably accessible. Again the main part of the city is on a grid system, allowing a person to simply count streets as they walk. Also Adelaide and Perth are compact and easy to navigate in their centres. Also much of the public transportation in these Australian cities seems accessible and people are friendly and helpful. 

I found the people in New Zealand the most friendly and helpful when it comes to acceptance of blind people and found most people willing to help me do any crazy activity I wished to do. Likewise in Turkey, I found a willing attitude from people to help me do things without them questioning why a blind person might want to climb a mountain or visit a city. 

Many cities throughout Europe, Like Athens, Greece, Rome and Milan in Italy, Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and several other cities in Europe have tactile lines on the ground enabling blind-visually impaired people to find their way around airports, train stations and navigate on many streets. However, I have found some attitudes towards blind-visually impaired people and disabled people in general in Europe less friendly and open-minded or inclusive. Particularly in Italy and also in some Eastern European countries. 

Japan seems to be an excellent country for blind people to be independent alongside other disabled people. Again there appears to be navigational tactile lines in the central areas of many of the country’s major cities, braille information on lift buttons and on ATM machines and even home appliances like microwaves, washing machines, dish washers, etc. It’s only in Japanese, and not English, but for Japanese blind people this must be fantastic. Even the complicated public and hotel toilets have braille on the many buttons in their loos!