17 hours ago
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- Local France
La vasque: How to see the Paris balloon this summer
The balloon was reintroduced as a tourist attraction on Saturday and it rose for the first time above Paris' Tuileries garden during the city's street music festival Fête de la Musique.
It will stay anchored in central Paris until September 14th, 2025 and will remain a summer tradition until the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The giant balloon was first seen during the 2024 Olympics opening ceremony, when it rose into the sky carrying the Olympic flame and officially launched the Games - although due to a clever design the 'flame' is actually water vapour.
Now it's back - as per last summer it will be anchored at ground level in the Tuileries gardens during the day, and will rise up into the sky at sunset.
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The takeoff time will change throughout summer as the days get shorter.
It will rise at 10.30pm in June and July, then at 9.30pm in August, and at 8.30pm in September. The balloon will stay lifted until around 2am each night.
Paris' City Hall recommends watching the balloon go up from five locations: Place du Carrousel, the banks of the Seine (between Paris Mint and the National Assembly), the Champs-Élysées, Rue de Rivoli, and the square of the Sacré Cœur in Montmartre.
During the day it is moored on the ground at the Place du Carrousel - this is open to visitors from 10am to 9pm and unlike last summer no tickets are required.
The balloon's scheduled ascent and descent times are available at along with any weather-related cancellations or changes to the schedule.
