We have just had a lift installed. First up - it may not be cheap - ours wasn’t!
Our house is on three floors and is an 1860 vigneron-style with a high garage at the bottom, a bedroom layer and then a séjour on the top. The staircase is a traditional Languedocian spiral and quite steep. We didn’t want to destroy the traditional features and, in any case, removing all stairs is not a good idea even if legal. We used a local architect who drew up the plans. With a quite large area (just under 100m2), it was not too hard to decide on a location which would leave the garage and bedroom floor a little bit smaller but essentially intact. Phase One consisted of builders (maçons) who cut out just over a square metre from the garage ceiling, with old beams which needed support afterwards, and a similar size through the slightly more modern first and second floors. They then built a shaft from basically breezeblocks, cement and concrete and went away. Phase Two, some weeks afterwards, was the installation of the lift itself by Midilev. This was quicker. Phase Three was the making good and painting as well as the final inspection. All in all, it took about five months, but partly due to our going away in the middle. The lift takes all you might normally want to put in it such as shopping and the two of us. The speed to go from the garage to the top is 0.15m/s; it takes about 20 seconds. It is also easily large enough to take, in due course, a replacement fridge or similar white goods for the kitchen (not otherwise easy up the two flights of stairs). The main issue, looking back, was the enormous quantity of dust and sawdust, mainly from Phase One. All surfaces, top and bottom needed to be thoroughly cleaned three times in the weeks after the work was completed. I think, three months after all is complete, that we are back to normal grubbiness again, and it is a dusty area anyway!
We still use the stairs for most things and walk down. I put wood for the poêle in the lift and walk up to meet the load at the top! Suffice it to say that we may need the lift more in the future but it seemed sensible to get this done well in advance of any sudden need. Good luck!
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Thanks for the feedback. We only have two floors and I am hoping to squeeze a lift into the existing stairwell. I think a consultation with an architect (as you did) might be the best first step.
I was just about to say.. don’t forget you’ll need an alternative method of access, when I realised you possibly have a spacious staircase which won’t get touched/blocked??
Only teasing @Mik_Bennett it will be interesting to find out what you finally decide on. 
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