You might think many things about Switzerland—or nothing at all—though you likely don’t consider it a hot-air ballooning capital of the world.

But yet! It is.

The Climate Makes the Destination

Nope, the mountains do not get in the balloons’ way.

Turns out that the alpine climate is the reason for the capital designation. The climate in the Alps is perfect for ambitious hot-air balloon aficionados, who have used it for all sorts of hot air ballooning feats.

Including two men who took off from a small village called Chateau d’Oex in 1999 in a hot air balloon called the Breitling Orbiter 3. Bertrant Piccard and Brian Jones aimed to be the first to tour the globe in a hot-air balloon and they succeeded, ending their trip in Egypt nineteen days later.

Sounds ambitious enough, but what really astounded me is that they did the entire trip without fuel. They just… coasted along on jet streams for more than 28,000 miles.

I’m not that brave.

The Hot Air Ballooning Festival

The village that launched the Breitling Orbiter 3, Chateau d’Oex, has hosted the International Hot Air Ballooning Festival each year in January since 1979. And though I had to double-check this because it didn’t seem possible that a hot air ballooning festival could last nine days, it does. (Nine days!)

Attendees can watch more than seventy balloons of all sorts of creative styles take to the skies for regular flights and aviation acrobatics (no kidding, and in balloons, so that’s something), take a hot air balloon flight, listen to concerts, do karaoke, watch acrobats, eat and drink local specialties, and attend a gala soirée.

There are even enough events for kids each day to make it a great family vacation.

The Hot Air Ballooning Museum

If you can’t make it to the Chateau d’Oex for the festival, you can still visit the Espace Ballon, a museum in town that has artifacts from hot air ballooning over the years, a visual history of hot air ballooning, and two simulators to give you the experience of riding in one.

When we were in Chateau d’Oex in the summer, we stopped into the museum and I was surprised to find it much more engaging than I expected. The history of the, er, sport—if that’s what it is—is much deeper and more interesting than I’d known it to be before.

Take a Balloon Flight to See for Yourself

Throughout the year—not just during the festival—companies in Chateau d’Oex offer hot air balloon rides for visitors that take you over and through the Swiss Alps.

I’ve taken a hot air balloon flight in France’s Loire Valley, but not here in Switzerland. If you want to see what the world looks like up there (albeit without the Alps), you can see how stunning it is through the video I made of my experience:

Sure, going on a hot air balloon ride takes a bit of bravery (I won’t lie), but the views really are incredible, right?