I got to ride on the Airship Ventures Zeppelin NT over the SF Peninsula and South Bay back in 2012. It was as awesome as you may guess.

There were a couple of windows we could open, and a seat in the back with a big panorama window behind it.

We were in the same cabin with the pilots, and they were happy to show us how the zeppelin worked and make little detours if there was something we wanted to see. We even got to meet the CEO of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin who was visiting that day.

Here are some photos, including Larry Ellison's house, NASA wind tunnels, and other local sights:

https://geary.smugmug.com/Flying/Airship-Ride/

Alas, Airship Ventures shut down operations at the end of 2012, but Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei still runs passenger flights out of Friedrichshafen. If you ever get to Germany, you won't regret taking a Zeppelin ride. If you're a pilot, you can even take a two-day training course and fly it yourself!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship_Ventures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftschiffbau_Zeppelin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Zeppelin_Reederei

https://zeppelin-nt.de/en/zeppelin-flights.html

https://zeppelin-nt.de/en/experience-the-zeppelin/pilot-for-...