Mondial Air Balloon Festival, Chambly Air Base

Festivals in Alsace-Lorraine, France

This is one of the largest Ballooning events on the calendar drawing balloonists and enthusiasts from 70 countries to the 2007 event in rural Lorraine, France. An estimated 1,000 crews were part of the festivities held over a week, with two accents a day scheduled in.

This is the place to really experience a mass accent or night glow where hundreds of balloons are taking part. It's a spectacular sight to see one balloon aloft, but to see a ballet of several hundred balloons drift gracefully (and skilfully) through the sky, managing to miss each other despite the fact that they look only metres away from disaster. The shows at Mondial are the main attraction, with special night shows set to music one of the most popular events but there are also competitions, but fewer pilots take part, most content to be part of the camaraderie of the event in and around the balloon city which emerges out of the surrounding fields.

Saga International Balloon Festival

Festivals in Fukuoka, Japan

The large flat plain around Saga is mostly used to grow rice and once the rice has been harvest in October the empty plain is a perfect place for a balloon festival. Shapes are particularly popular here, especially Japanese characters, so this could be a good time to try and get up in a shape. Numbers of balloon teams attending this festival are increasing each year, and it is quickly becoming one of the worlds largest ballooning events with teams attending from many countries.

The Saga Festival has several competitions including a Masters competition which is one of the largest in the world, there is also a parade through the town on the first day of the festival and a special day for children.

Bear in mind that this is a cold climate festival, so it’s cold going up in the mornings and evenings.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Festivals in Albuquerque, United States

Albuquerque‘s near desert location make this a truly astounding ballooning spot. The sky over the nine days of the festival is almost cloudless and a brilliant blue. This festival has been going for about thirty years and has become very popular with balloon teams worldwide so you can expect a good turnout, with around 700 balloons taking part - which makes for spectacular night glows!

The field where the festival is held allows visitors to walk amongst the balloon pilots and chase teams as they are set up, which is a pretty exciting experience and not something most festivals encourage. The mass ascensions are particularly impressive due to the large numbers of balloons which take part and the wind conditions are so good balloons are sometimes able to take off and land within the parks parameters.

There is plenty of time at this festival to get a balloon ride in, with nine days of multiple flights, but you need to book in early, it’s a pretty popular event.

European Balloon Festival

Festivals in Catalunya, Spain

The sunny Spanish July weather is a big draw card for this ballooning event - especially considering the ration of balloons to spectators is lower than at many other festivals - there are usually less than 40 per take off. But 40 is still a lot of balloons and create a really buzzy atmosphere as they are set up and inflated then gracefully launched. Added excitement comes from the locals who seem to really get involved bringing out all kinds of local produce into a market stall area.

The festival takes place over three or four days and there are usually six or seven flight windows, with different teams at each flight so if you want to see the competitions or some shapes - usually a highlight for the kids, you’ll need to check a program. The evening flights and the night glows are especially enjoyable in the warm weather and all the burners starting up create a romantic image of lots of coloured lanterns.

Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Festivals in Bristol, United Kingdom

This is one of the Europe’s largest ballooning events and is a good way to be introduced to ballooning. There are take off times in the early morning and in the evening and many people involved in the fiesta camp on site so there is a good chance of seeing some spectacular launches.

The field is located in a dip, on one side are green hills and on the other the ocean lays out behind Bristol so if you’re lucky enough to get up in one of the fiesta balloons you can be sure of a scenic trip in any direction. It is a different experience to go up in a balloon launch than if you’re a lone balloon, and although the view is often partly obscured by other balloonists it is equally lovely to see the balloons all floating gracefully.

This is a good experience whether in the air or on the ground and the organisers always make an effort to have other entertainment on hand to keep everyone interested while they wait for conditions to be just right for take off. There’s a fair ground atmosphere.

Bring your sweater and your patience, take offs don't always happen to schedule, and enjoy a relaxing day out that your kids will probably like too.