Eutelsat Balloon

Parc Andre Citroën

ABOVE: The Eutelsat sightseeing balloon is reflected in a glass building next to the Parc André Citroën. INSET BELOW: The tethered helium balloon carries passengers to an altitude of 150 meters or about 500 feet.

See more Eutelsat photos with captions on page 2.

Balloon rides aren't just a luxury for well-heeled sightseeers. In Paris, the Eutelsat Balloon offers 10-minute rides to an altitude of 150 meters, or about 500 feet, for as little as 10 euros. (That's for a weekday adult ticket; kids pay half price.)

The balloon is at the Parc André Citroën in the 15th arrondissement, on the left bank of the Seine within leisurely walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. It's a tethered or captive gas balloon, making it a spiritual descendant of "l'Entreprenant" ("The Enterprising"), a hydrogen balloon that the French Army used as the world's first aerial military observation post in 1794.

Captive sightseeing balloons have a long and honorable tradition: From 1884 to 1899, the Frenchman Louis Godard operated captive balloons around the world, from Paris to Chicago to Buenos Aires. In Paris alone, one ballon did 1564 ascents over Trocadero and carried 19,194 passengers over a 161-day period; later, in 1895. another of M. Godard's balloons operated for 110 days at the Champ de Mars (near what is now the site of the Eiffel Tower).

The current tethered Parisian balloon began service in 1999, when an insurance company sponsored the balloon and offered free rides to Parisian children during pre-Millennium celebrations. The balloon then went into storage for several years until Eutelsat, a French Paris-based satellite communications company, became its new sponsor. The balloon (in Eutelsat livery) was relaunched in May, 2004, and it now operates year-round.

Things you should know:

• The Aerophile balloon used by Eutelsat is claimed to be the largest balloon design in the world, measuring 22 meters or 72 feet in diameter. Its fabric envelope is held within a net formed by 9,000 knots, and the balloon is tethered to the ground by a winch-controlled cable.

• The balloon's spherical shape is preserved by a fan that blows air into a "balloonet" underneath the helium-filled envelope. The round profile minimizes the effects of wind as the helium expands and contracts with changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature.

• The aluminum gondola or basket is designed to hold 30 adult or 60 adult passengers, with an overload capacity of 1.5. (The 150-meter tethering cable can resist up to 44 tons of traction, even though the balloon pulls a maximum of 3 tons.)

• If electricity fails, the balloon can be reeled in with a backup diesel winch.

Where and when to come:

The Eutelsat Balloon is in the Parc André Citroën, a few blocks from the Balard station on the Paris Métro. (Take the Métro in the direction of Balard, which is at the end of Line 8.) Signs will direct you to the park.

If you're coming from the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d'Orsay, St-Michel, or other neighborhoods on the Seine, take RER Line C along the Left Bank toward Versailles Rive Gauche or St-Quentin-en Yveline and get off at the Boulevard Victor RER station. The park is hard to miss--just look for the balloon.

The balloon normally offers 10-minute rides from 9 a.m. until 30 minutes before the park closes, but the schedule sometimes changes, and rides may be cancelled for a day or two at a time because of windy weather. (For aerodynamic reasons, the balloon's capacity drops as the wind increases, and rides are cancelled when anticipated winds or gusts exceed 35 km/h or about 20 mph.)

For up-to-the-minute visitor information, check www.aeroparis.com or call 01 44 26 20 00. Also see page 2 of this article for more photos and advice.

Next page: More Eutelsat balloon pictures

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