Vasque de Paris 2024: what time can you watch it take off today?

Want to see the Paris 2024 basin rise above the Tuileries once more? Good news for those who missed it during the Olympic and Paralympic Games: the iconic hot-air balloon returns to Paris every summer through the Los Angeles 2028 Games. For this new season, it will be installed in the Jardin des Tuileries from June 21 to September 14, 2026.

• To be read
• Paris 2024 Olympics: the Olympic flame cauldron at the Jardin des Tuileries, an unusual cauldron
• Last days of the Vasque Olympique: where to see the hot-air balloon at night, where to admire it
• This week's top picks for July 6–12, 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France

A viewing basin that you’ll be able to see during the day under much less restrictive conditions, since it will be freely accessible without reservations, every day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., starting June 22 (for June 21, there is no access—only a raised basin for the concert for the Fête de la Musique).

So this summer, visitors can once again admire the vase... And although the Garden is not accessible at night, we're also looking for a spot to watch the cauldron take flight every evening. We're taking advantage of the last days of the games to go and see it!

Last days of the Vasque Olympique: where to see the hot-air balloon at night, where to admire it
One year after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Olympic cauldron will once again rise into the sky aboard its hot-air balloon at dusk for the summer of 2025. An opportunity for Parisians of all ages to admire it from a variety of vantage points. Here are our ideas for night-time spots to see this flame levitating above the capital until September 14, 2025. [Read more]

A rather unpredictable schedule for raising the Olympic cauldron

How can you witness the cauldron take flight? According to the official site, this year again there are no quirky times and no “raising the cauldron at sunset.” Last year, the organizers opted for a simpler approach, listing a fixed time each month that varies with sunset. The times in question:

• Saturday June 21: 10:11pm
• Every evening in June and July: 10:30pm
• Every evening in August: 9:30pm
• Every evening in September: 8:30pm

Please note that times are subject to change depending on wind, weather and other factors. So be patient, and admire this fine piece of engineering paying tribute to the Montgolfier brothers' first manned flight.