45.77° N · 2.99° E · Chaîne des Puys
You take off at sunrise near Orcines or Volvic and fly for an hour over the line of volcanoes, the Puy de Dôme and its craters. It is expensive and weather-dependent, but it is the only way to see the whole chain at once.
Part of Chaîne des PuysMassif Central
Who offers it
Independent companies: you book with them, on their terms. Prices are as they publish them and may change.
Step by step
At the take-off point they tell you the day before.
You help prepare and inflate the balloon.
Over the Chaîne des Puys, wherever the wind takes it.
Packing the balloon, chat, certificate and return to the starting point.
From the ground you see the volcanoes one by one. From a balloon you see the whole line, with its craters, the forests and the lava flows running down to the plain. It is the most expensive plan in the area and the one that depends most on the weather.
Auvergne Montgolfière has flown over the volcanoes of Auvergne since 2001 and has a take-off base in the Chaîne des Puys, near Volvic or Orcines; they send you the exact spot when confirming the flight. Flights go mostly at sunrise, when the air is stillest, and there are also afternoon flights. The balloon rises, depending on the wind and what the pilot decides, between 300 and 1,500 m above the ground, and the route is set by the wind: no one knows beforehand where it will land.
You help inflate and pack up the balloon, and at the end there is a chat and a flight certificate.
The time is not fixed until the day before: that day you call the office before 11:30 to confirm that the flight is on and that you are coming. The flight lasts about an hour and the whole experience, with preparation, take-off, landing and the return, between three and four hours. The baskets take 6 to 12 passengers, plus the pilot. Arrive 15 minutes before the time for the safety briefing.
From age 8 and 1.30 m tall, and children fly with an adult. You do not need to be fit, but you do need to get up early and accept that the plan may change.
The adult ticket for the Chaîne des Puys base costs €329. With free choice of base, €344, and the child's ticket up to age 14, €275. The ticket is valid for two years: if wind, temperature or cloud prevent flying, the flight is postponed within that period. So it is best to book it for the first day of your trip, and leave the other days as a margin.
Who it's for
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
If it cannot fly, you still have the other days of the trip to try again.
That is when they confirm the flight and the meeting time.
With a sunrise meeting, staying in Orcines or Chamalières saves you the early start.
Questions
€329 per adult and €275 per child up to age 14.
About an hour of flight and between three and four hours in total.
From age 8 and 1.30 m, with an adult.
The flight is postponed; the ticket is valid for two years.
Near Volvic or Orcines; the exact spot is confirmed the day before.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/france/auvergne-rhone-alpes/chaine-des-puys/things-to-do/chaine-des-puys-hot-air-balloon-flight
