Hot air balloon festival set for take off in Swiss Alps

The international hot air balloon festival runs from the 27 January to the 4 February 2018 in the picturesque pre-Alpine town of Chateau d’Oex in Vaud, Switzerland. This year is the event’s 40th anniversary.

The 9-day festival, which brings together pilots from around twenty different countries and nearly a hundred hot air balloons, includes a night-time show, hot air balloon rides and a kids’ day. Wednesday afternoon, 31 January is dedicated to children.

Chateau d’Oex has a winter microclimate particularly suited to flying hot air balloons.

It is also the departure point of the Breitling Orbiter, a balloon that was the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1999. Piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, the balloon bet Richard Branson to the prize – he had tried and failed. Piccard is known for his solar-powered flight around the planet, completed in 2016.

This year the night time light display will be on Friday 2 February.

Dates: 27 January to 4 February 2018
Location
Tickets: Saturday and Sunday: CHF 15 (free if under 16), Wednesday afternoon: CHF 5 (free is under 16) – more on prices.
Event website
Programme (in French) - Take a 5 minute French test now

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