34th Montgolfiades Internationales

With its ideal aerological conditions, the resort of Praz-sur-Arly has become, in just a few years, the spot for mountain aerostation in France. Hot-air balloon flights are possible all year round, thanks to Gérard Issartel and the Alpes Montgolfière team. And over the weekend, the village comes alive with a veritable aerostation festival, the Montgolfiades Internationales!

Why a hot-air balloon meeting in Praz sur Arly?

In 1990, a group of professional airshow organizers passed through Praz sur Arly and discovered a huge, undeveloped site at the entrance to the village. They saw it as an ideal location for a take-off site. A year later, the first meeting was held. 12 balloons were invited to the first event. The following year, the Tourist Office organized the event independently.

Over more than 30 years, the event has been run by a succession of emblematic men and women, notably the flight directors: Guy Garcia, Daniel Dupuis aka "papy", Jo Roulet and Alain Paris. Flight director for several years, Jo Roulet, national trainer, is the French reference pilot for mountain flying. This year's flight director, Alain Paris, is also pilot of the Paris hot-air balloon (Observatoire Atmosphérique Générali) and flight director of the Lille meeting. 2004 saw the start of the Défi Transalpin, with the aim of covering the longest distance in the heart of the Mont-Blanc Massif in a single flight. In 2006, the TF1 team on board flew over Mont Blanc and landed in Italy! It has always been possible to inflate balloons during the week. Several French champions have flown during the Montgolfiades. In 2014, French champion Laure De Coligny was profiled on TF1's 8 o'clock news during a report shot in Praz sur Arly. Five times in 1993, 1999, 2015, 2018 and 2022, the aerostats were unable to take off on the weekend due to weather conditions.

Program

Download program

Saturday January 11th :

Updated Friday, January 10, 3pm: Flights scheduled for Saturday are cancelled, as aerological conditions do not allow hot-air balloons to fly.

The entertainment village will be open and accessible to all.

>10am-12pm CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS: Laser rifle shooting with ESF, Balloon and kite-making with Ballons Pirates ( Plaine des Belles or Salle de la Montagne ). Wooden figurine making with Bambins des bois - Base de loisirs des Belles. Please register directly with the stand staff.

>2pm-4.30pm CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS: Laser rifle shooting with ESF, Balloon and kite-making with Ballons Pirates ( Plaine des Belles or Salle de la Montagne ). Wooden figurine making with Bambins des bois - Base de loisirs des Belles. Please register directly with the stand hosts.

Sunday January 12 :

> 9h 3ème Vol Libre / BRIEFING, PREPARATION AND FLIGHT OF MONTGOLFIÈRES: 27 hot-air balloons will take to the Praline skies before your very eyes - Free of charge - Ile take-off zone 500m from the Base de loisirs des Belles (route des Varins). CANCELLED

> 10.30am-12pm MONTGOLFIÈRE STATIC FLIGHT: Registration on site (Belles reception chalet), free of charge, limited number of places. Take-off area at Les Belles. CANCELLED

>10am-12pm CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS: Laser rifle shooting with ESF, balloon and kite-making with Ballons Pirates (Plaine des Belles or Salle de la Montagne). Wooden figurine making with Bambins des bois - Base de loisirs des Belles. Register directly with the stand hosts.

>RADIO-CONTROLLED MINI BALLOON DEMONSTRATION / Teddy Baptisms. Children can fly their doudou in a small hot-air balloon - Free - Chardonneret take-off zone (route des Belles). CANCELLED

>2pm 4th Vol Libre / BRIEFING, PREPARATION AND FLIGHT OF MONTGOLFIÈRES: 27 hot-air balloons will take to the Praline skies before your very eyes - Free - Ile take-off area, 500m from the Belles leisure center (route des Varins). CANCELLED

>2pm-4.30pm CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS: Laser rifle shooting with ESF, balloon and kite-making with Ballons Pirates ( Plaine des Belles or Salle de la Montagne ). Wooden figurine making with Bambins des bois - Base de loisirs des Belles. Please register directly with the stand staff.

> 3pm-4.30pm MONTGOLFIÈRE STATIC FLIGHT: Registration on site (Belles reception chalet), free of charge, limited number of places. Take-off area at Les Belles. CANCELLED

>RADIO-CONTROLLED MINI BALLOON DEMONSTRATION / Teddy Baptisms. Children can fly their doudou in a small hot-air balloon - Free - Chardonneret take-off zone (route des Belles).

Accès :

Nous vous conseillons d'utiliser les parkings disponibles au niveau du front de neige : itinéraire
Accès conseillé : RD1212 -> Route des Grabilles -> Route d'Arly -> Parkings des pistes
Temps de trajet à pied depuis les parkings : 5/6 min
La Route des Belles sera en sens unique durant le week-end

THE HIGHLIGHT

In 2013, for the film "Salaud, on t'aime", director Claude Lelouch shot footage during the weekend and filmed a sequence from the film with Johnny Hallyday in the Praz sur Arly hot-air balloon. A patron of the Montgolfiades, Claude Lelouch is a second-home resident of the village!

HOT-AIR BALLOONING

Depart from Praz sur Arly for an unforgettable journey in the footsteps of Jules Verne, taking in the highest peaks in the Alps: the Mont-Blanc massif, the Aravis, the Beaufortain and the Fiz chain. The flight lasts between 45 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the day's air conditions. The gentleness and slowness of hot-air ballooning are unique, making it an unforgettable experience. You take off from the launch base on the island, but we don't know where you're going to land. A car will pick you up and take you back to the departure point!