European Balloon Festival 2027, Igualada: 8-11 July

Every July the festival field at Igualada fills with balloon envelopes laid out flat on the grass before sunrise. The European Balloon Festival has been held there since 1997 and is the biggest event of its kind in Spain. This booking covers the 2027 edition, on 8, 9, 10 and 11 July, with a place in a basket among the balloons instead of a spot on the spectator field. Flights go up early in the morning, when conditions are steadiest and the views over Igualada are clearest. Igualada sits in central Catalonia, about 40 minutes from Barcelona, so the flying happens well inland and the city is where the drive out begins. The balloon stays up for an hour and climbs to around 3,000 feet (900 m), with Montserrat in view and some 40 other balloons in the same patch of sky. On the ground the festival draws more than 25,000 spectators across its run, with balloons of different shapes and sizes from around Europe and the world, competition flights, music concerts, workshops for children, a photography contest and the Night Glow, when the burners light up the envelopes after dark. Once the balloon lands, wherever the wind has taken it, there is a cava toast with pastries and a personal flight certificate. Camins de Vent, the operator, says it has more than 20 years of experience flying across Catalonia, and sends the pictures of the activity by email.