Hot Air Balloon Flight over Florence at Daybreak

From the basket, Florence flattens into something closer to a map. Brunelleschi's dome holds the centre, the Arno cuts across it, and Ponte Vecchio sits on the water with its shops still shuttered. Piazzale Michelangelo, the terrace half the city climbs for the postcard view, passes below as one small balcony among the cypresses. Past the last rooftops, the Chianti hills take over. Departures are at dawn, and only at dawn. Flights that cross the historic centre of Florence are a restricted product, so dates are limited. The meeting place is confirmed by 4.00 pm the day before, by WhatsApp or email, because the launch site depends on the weather. The route passes the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Ponte Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo, then the hills around San Casciano in Val di Pesa where Chianti wine country begins. Among the balloon flights listed here that cross the city itself rather than the countryside south of it, this one is priced lowest.