Most mornings in Melbourne, on any day that is clear, you can look up at sunrise and see hot air balloons drifting over the city skyline. Not one or two — several, moving slowly across the CBD and the Yarra, catching the morning light before the city wakes up. It is one of those things that sounds too good to be true and is not.

If you are staying in Fitzroy or Collingwood, you are in the right part of the city to see it. The balloons pass directly over the inner north, and from most of the Artist Abodes properties, stepping out onto a balcony or looking out a window early enough on a clear morning will put you in the middle of the view. It is the kind of thing you remember a trip for.

Melbourne Is the Only Major City in the World You Can Fly Over by Balloon

That is not marketing language — it is the fact that makes Melbourne ballooning genuinely unusual. Most cities do not permit commercial hot air balloon flights directly over the urban area. Melbourne does. The result is a sunrise experience that does not exist anywhere else in the world at this scale: floating over the CBD, the Yarra, the Botanic Gardens, and the MCG as the city comes to light below you.

Global Ballooning Australia has been running these flights for over 30 years and has carried more than 150,000 passengers. They are the most established operator in Victoria, running out of Pullman Melbourne on the Park, and the flights run daily on clear mornings year-round. The route depends on the wind — which is what makes every flight different.

What the Experience Actually Looks Like

You meet at the Pullman about 90 minutes before sunrise. The crew inflates the balloon on site — and they usually invite passengers to help, which is worth doing. Once you are airborne, the flight runs for approximately one hour. At that altitude, over that city, at that time of morning, an hour goes quickly.

The views depend on the wind direction, but the inner north and the CBD are almost always in frame. The Yarra curves through the landscape below, the Botanic Gardens sit like a green island between the city and the suburbs, and the MCG — even from several hundred metres up — is immediately recognisable. On a clear autumn morning, with the light coming in low and golden, it is one of the better things you can do in Australia.

After landing, Global Ballooning offers an optional buffet breakfast back at the Pullman. Most people take it. You have just watched a city wake up from above — sitting down to eat afterwards makes sense.

Watching From the Ground

You do not have to be in a balloon to get something out of this. The balloons are visible from the ground across Fitzroy and Collingwood most clear mornings, floating over the CBD from around dawn. Depending on the wind, they can drift quite far across the inner north before landing.

From Artist Abodes properties in the area, catching the balloons on a clear morning is genuinely achievable. You are not looking for them through a gap between buildings — you are standing on a balcony or looking out across rooftops and they are simply there, moving slowly across the sky. It is a spectacle that does not require a ticket or planning. Just an early alarm and a clear morning.

When to Go and What to Expect

Balloon flights in Melbourne run year-round, but the best conditions are generally autumn and spring — clear skies, stable air, and the kind of early morning light that makes aerial photography worth doing. Summer works too, though the early sunrise means a very early start. Winter flights happen, but clear mornings are less predictable.

Global Ballooning gives you a go or no-go decision the evening before based on weather. If the flight is cancelled, you reschedule. Worth booking as early in your stay as possible so you have room to move if the first attempt gets scrubbed.

Pricing for the one-hour sunrise flight starts at around $395 per person. Given that Melbourne is the only city in the world where this experience exists, that is not a hard case to make.

The Inner North Is the Best Place to Stay For This

The Pullman Melbourne on the Park — where Global Ballooning departs from — sits on the edge of the Fitzroy Gardens, about a 10-minute drive from the heart of Collingwood and Fitzroy. Getting there early in the morning from an inner north property is straightforward.

But the better argument for staying in the area is simpler. The balloons pass over Fitzroy and Collingwood. You can watch them from your accommodation without going anywhere. For guests staying with Artist Abodes, that view is part of the deal on any clear morning — no booking required.

Artist Abodes manages boutique short-term rentals across Fitzroy and Collingwood — professionally managed, consistently well-reviewed, and positioned directly under the balloon routes. See what is available and book direct for the best rate.

Explore more: If you enjoy getting out of the city, check out our guides on a day trip down the Great Ocean Road and the Yarra Valley wine region.