Hot Air Balloon Flight in Val d'Orcia, Tuscany

The Val d'Orcia is the UNESCO-protected valley that postcards have made famous — a perfectly composed landscape of solitary cypresses, undulating golden hills, and Renaissance villages. This is Brunello di Montalcino country, home to some of Italy's most prized red wines, and the birthplace of Pecorino di Pienza. Pope Pius II rebuilt his hometown of Pienza in 1462 as the first 'ideal city' of the Renaissance — and the surrounding countryside has been protected ever since.

The hills of Val d'Orcia from 600 metres at sunrise are one of the rare travel images that genuinely lives up to the photograph. Flights take off shortly after dawn — the air is calmest, the light is golden, and the shadows of the cypresses stretch for hundreds of metres across the vineyards.

The full experience runs about three to four hours from pick-up to drop-off: a 60–75 minute flight, followed by a champagne breakfast in a vineyard at the landing point, then transport back to your villa. Flights run April through October, weather permitting. Maximum 8–10 passengers per basket.