Balloon Ride Ypres
Looking to book a balloon ride in Ypres? You fly for at least 60 minutes over the Cloth Hall, the Menin Gate and the Heuvelland, from €165 per person — insurance, taxes, VAT and champagne after the flight included.
Our fixed launch site near Ypres lies in the open fields just outside the city. From there you rise silently above a landscape that tells a very different story from up high: the Cloth Hall and the Grote Markt stand out sharply in the centre, the Menin Gate and the ramparts encircle the old city like a green belt, and not far beyond, the Heuvelland rolls away towards the horizon — with the Kemmelberg, Scherpenberg, Rodeberg and Zwarteberg as recognisable landmarks on the skyline. See why we call it the most beautiful balloon ride in Belgium.
Ypres is one of our most requested departure points — and it's easy to see why, since few places in the Westhoek give such a complete picture of the landscape below. We always plan the flight around sunrise or in the last hours before sunset, the calmest moments to take off.
Ypres is also a city that wears its history openly: the Cloth Hall, St Martin's Cathedral and the Menin Gate were rebuilt stone by stone after the devastation of the First World War. In the fields around the city, too, that history is never far away. Traces of the First World War remain visible around Ypres — several war cemeteries and ponds formed by bomb craters, and in places you can even make out patterns in the fields marking the old trench lines. From the balloon, those traces form a quiet pattern across the landscape: a different, moving way to see the history of the Westhoek.
A real flight over Ypres
At least 60 minutes
Every flight lasts at least an hour, at varying altitude and carried by the wind.
Planned around the weather
We choose the moment shortly after sunrise or just before sunset, the calmest times to fly.
Launching near Ypres
A fixed launch site that's easy to reach.
What your balloon ride from Ypres looks like
Allow three to four hours in total: we meet at the launch site, the balloon is set up, the flight lasts at least 60 minutes, and then comes the landing. The wind decides where we land; our ground crew follows the balloon by car. You arrange your own way back to your car, for example with a friend or a taxi.
Our flying season runs from April to October, weather and wind permitting. We fly shortly after sunrise or in the last hours before sunset. At noon we confirm whether that day's flight goes ahead; with wind above 20 km/h or rain, we reschedule free of charge (more on weather and ballooning). Children are welcome from 7 years old.
Combine your balloon ride with a visit to Ypres
Ypres is worth exploring on the ground too. The Cloth Hall houses the In Flanders Fields Museum, and every evening at 8 pm the Last Post sounds beneath the Menin Gate. If you have seen the city from the air first, you will see it differently afterwards.
What does a balloon ride cost
Full price overview →| Region | 1–2 people | 3+ people | Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Flanders | €170 | €165 | €130 (under 12) |
| Hainaut | €170 | €165 | €130 (under 12) |
- Insurance, taxes and VAT included
- Champagne after the flight
- Spacious wicker basket for your whole party
- No hidden costs
- Flight certificate as a keepsake
Yes, to a degree. From above you can see crater ponds, faint trench lines in the fields, concrete bunkers and war cemeteries. Our route depends on the wind, so we cannot guarantee a particular site, but we launch right in the middle of the former Ypres Salient.
Yes. Our briefing and guidance are available in English, so visitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will be looked after in their own language.
We confirm the exact location a few days beforehand, depending on the wind. It's always in the open fields just outside the city, easily reached by car.
Certainly. For groups of up to 15 people you can book the whole basket as a private flight; larger groups are split across several balloons from our fleet of eight.
The historic city centre with the Cloth Hall, St Martin's Cathedral and the Grote Markt, the Menin Gate and the ring of ramparts, and further off the rolling hills of the Heuvelland — Kemmelberg, Scherpenberg, Rodeberg and Zwarteberg. On clear days the view stretches much further still.
Yes. Around Ypres those traces are still visible: war cemeteries, ponds that were once bomb craters, and in some places even recognisable patterns in the fields marking the old trench lines. From the air, that pattern stands out far more clearly than it does from the ground.
A shared balloon ride from Ypres costs €170 per person for 1–2 people and €165 per person from 3 people; children under 12 pay €130. Insurance, taxes and VAT are included.
The flight itself lasts at least 60 minutes. Allow three to four hours in total, including meeting up, set-up and landing.
Our flying season runs from April to October, weather and wind permitting. We usually fly shortly after sunrise or in the last hours before sunset.
At noon we confirm whether that day's flight goes ahead. With wind above 20 km/h or rain, we reschedule the flight free of charge.
Children are welcome from 7 years old, as long as they can stand upright in the basket for the whole flight of about an hour.
Visiting the Ypres battlefields?
Many of our passengers come to Ypres from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to see where an ancestor served. From the basket you can still pick out shell-crater ponds, faint trench lines in the fields, concrete bunkers and the white rows of the war cemeteries, in silence and without the crowds. Our briefing and guidance are available in English. Read more about our WW1 battlefield balloon flight, trenches, craters and bunkers from the air, war cemeteries from a balloon, or how to plan a flight around an ancestor’s front line.
Flying near Ypres, as a group, or as a gift
Prefer another spot? We also fly from Poperinge, Zonnebeke and the Heuvelland. Travelling as a group? Take a look at our private flight: from 6 people the basket is automatically yours alone.
Looking for a gift? A gift voucher is valid for 24 months, and a marriage proposal in the balloon is possible. Curious about the history beneath you? Read what you can see of WW1 by balloon or see the Westhoek and WW1 seen from above. Want to read more? See our post Balloon ride Ypres: what you see from the air.
Book your balloon ride near Ypres.
Would you rather look at the other regions first? Head to the full regional overview.