Private Hot Air Balloon Flight above Florence Rooftops

The difference here is who else is in the basket: nobody outside your own group. The flight is booked for friends or family, which changes the tone of it more than it changes the route. Nobody is angling for the side with the Duomo on it, and the pilot talks to one party rather than to a dozen strangers. Florence opens up in a way no terrace on the ground manages. The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore sits at the centre with the roofs packed around it. Ponte Vecchio crosses the Arno with its row of shops still attached. Piazzale Michelangelo, where half the city walks up for the view, is below you rather than above. Past the last streets the Chianti hills take over the horizon. Flights that cross the city itself are a restricted product, so dates are fewer than for the countryside flights south of Florence. The meeting place, on Lungarno del Tempio, is confirmed by 4.00 pm the day before by WhatsApp or email, and it can change if the weather does.