Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hot-Air Balloon Rides
In France's most popular regions, you'll find hot-air balloon companies eager to
take you for a ride (Burgundy, the Loire, Dordogne, and Provence are best suited
forballooning).It'snotcheap,butit'sunforgettable—aonce-in-a-lifetimechanceto
sail serenely over châteaux, canals, vineyards, Romanesque churches, and villages.
Balloons don't goabove 3,000feet and usually fly much lower than that, soyouget
a bird's-eye view of France's sublime landscapes.
Most companies offer similar deals and work this way: Trips range from 45 to
90 minutes of air time, to which you should add two hours for preparation, cham-
pagne toast, and transport back to your starting point. Deluxe trips add a gourmet
picnic, making it a four-hour event. Allow about €210 for a short tour, and about
€300 for longer flights. Departures are, of course, weather-dependent, and are usu-
allyscheduledfirstthinginthemorningorinearlyevening.Ifyou'vebookedahead
and the weather turns bad, you can reschedule your flight, but you can't get your
money back. Most balloon companies charge about €25 more for a bad-weather re-
fund guarantee; unless your itinerary is very loose, it's a good idea.
Flight season is April through October. It's smart to bring a jacket for the
breeze, though temperatures in the air won't differ too much from those on the
ground.Airsicknessisusuallynotaproblem,astherideistypically slowandeven.
Baskets have no seating, so count on standing the entire trip. Group (and basket)
size can vary from 4 to 16 passengers. Area TIs have brochures.
France Mont-
golfières
gets good reviews and offers flights in the areas that I recommend (tel.
0254322048,
www.france-montgolfiere.com
).Othersare
Aérocom Montgolfière
(tel. 02 54 33 55 00,
www.aerocom.fr
)
and
Touraine Montgolfière
(tel. 02 47 56
42 05,
www.touraine-montgolfiere.fr
)
.
Seeing the Loire with a Local Guide
Fabrice Maret
is an expert in all things Loire and a great teacher. He lives in Blois but
can meet you in Amboise to give an excellent walking tour of the city and its sights, or
he'll guide you around the area's châteaux using your rental car (€260/day plus transport-
ation from Blois, tel. 02 54 70 19 59,
www.chateauxloire.com
,
info@chateauxloire.com
)
.
Another capable guide is
Charlotte Coignard;
she lives in Tours but can meet you any-
where (
charlotte.coignard@free.fr
)
.
