{"id":41340,"date":"2022-01-21T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=41340"},"modified":"2026-03-09T10:57:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:57:27","slug":"tour-spanish-riding-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/tour-spanish-riding-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour of the Spanish Riding School"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><a href=\"#tickets\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/tourtickets.jpg\" alt=\"Part of a tour ticket\" class=\"wp-image-45512\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can stand forlornly outside the Spanish Riding School stables, straining for a peek of a Lipizzaner stallion. Or you can go inside and say hello on a guided tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Takes you around the arena and stables<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You get remarkably close to the horses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8230;and genuinely behind the scenes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Our guide was knowledgeable &amp; friendly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regular English tours available<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-attractions-c60335\/tickets-for-spanish-riding-school-english-guided-tour-p976141\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_SRSTour\" rel=\"sponsored\">tour tickets<\/a>* for the riding school<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>My <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/spanishridingschool\/\">Spanish Riding School ticket tips<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/morgenarbeit-morning-training\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22948\">Review of the public training session<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/architectural-tour-spanish-riding-school\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"67016\">Review of the special architectural tour<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/spanish-riding-school-performances\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"89085\">Review of a performance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The tour: a review<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorse.jpg\" alt=\"Lipizzaner chewing on hay\" class=\"wp-image-60622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorse.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorse-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(A handsome fellow; photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour I went on, though my review text is based on the standard public guided tour I did)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They do like to tease you in the nicest possible way. The highlight of any tour of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/spanishridingschool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"278\">Spanish Riding School<\/a> is inevitably going to be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/stallburg\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"30886\">Stallburg stables<\/a> and a close-up look at the horses, but our guide saved that for last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we started in the baroque winter riding school, which hosts the various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/spanish-riding-school-performances\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"89085\">formal performances<\/a> and public <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/morgenarbeit-morning-training\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22948\">training sessions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This long indoor arena, empty of stallions and an audience, felt heavy with the weight of history. Almost church-like in its silence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingarena.jpg\" alt=\"Spanish riding school training arena\" class=\"wp-image-60346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingarena.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingarena-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The winter riding school; photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not a lot has changed inside since the building&#8217;s construction in the early 1700s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740) reigned at the time of the arena&#8217;s opening, and his portrait looks out over the more expensive seats, waiting to be acknowledged by the riders when they first enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charles sits on a white horse in the picture, albeit one with what we might call &#8220;unusual&#8221; proportions. Somebody clearly skipped the animal classes at art school.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/StablesandTackRooms1.jpg\" alt=\"Stables and tack room\" class=\"wp-image-41435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/StablesandTackRooms1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/StablesandTackRooms1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(See inside the Renaissance Stallburg stables. The upper levels once housed the Imperial paintings collection)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unblemished swirls covered the arena floor, bordered on each side by white balustrades. The tour took us from one end to the other, and briefly outside for a view of the outdoor training arena from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want a more detailed look at the arena, a rarer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/architectural-tour-spanish-riding-school\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"67016\">architectural tour<\/a> spends additional time there and also takes you beyond the public areas and up into the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The arena is lovely and fascinating, of course, but the true stars of the show (literally and figuratively) are the horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it was off across the road and into the Stallburg stable courtyard for a look around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"product\" data-content-ids=\"974585,976141\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_SRSTraining\"><\/div><script defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply stepping inside seemed enough: getting within a yard or two of those stable doors that look out over the courtyard, their openings offering glimpses of smooth white flanks or the curious head of a stallion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the tour offered much more&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We went inside the stables to see the tack room and the custom saddles and special harnesses that hang on name pegs, like kit in a professional football team&#8217;s dressing room.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/spanishridingschooltackroom.jpg\" alt=\"The tack room of the Spanish Riding School\" class=\"wp-image-61561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/spanishridingschooltackroom.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/spanishridingschooltackroom-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(See inside the tack room. Photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we continued further to walk between the actual stalls that house the horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No ropes kept us at a distance; we could get close enough to the Lipizzaners to feel their breath (no touching allowed, though&#8230;quite understandably).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The horses eyed us with a stoic benevolence. Majestic might be a much overused word in this context, but it seems apt.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorses.jpg\" alt=\"Two lipizzaners\" class=\"wp-image-60347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorses.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/spanishridingstablehorses-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(I never really took to horses&#8230;until I met the Lipizzaners. Photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No skittish racehorses here, but a baroque breed seemingly impervious to the march of time: artisans exuding a self-confidence born of talent and experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And remarkably beautiful close up, too, even if not the pure white of myth and legend. I found myself murmuring words of praise to some stallion whose gaze, admittedly, suggested he&#8217;d heard it all before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All through the tour, our guide regaled us in perfect English with information and anecdotes covering the Lipizzaner breed and their &#8220;career path&#8221;, care, training regime, equipment, performances, and stabling. And she was very open and obliging when it came to questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All-in-all, one of the better tours I&#8217;ve been on. There really is something special about those horses&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/spanishridingschoolcat.jpg\" alt=\"A cat on paving\" class=\"wp-image-71530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/spanishridingschoolcat.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/spanishridingschoolcat-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(An unexpected occupant of the stables: equally adorable as the stallions but far less willing to perform for the public. Photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The school itself and various agencies will happily sell you a tour ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)<\/p><div data-tiqets-widget=\"availability\" data-product-id=\"976141\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"AW_SRSTour\" data-layout=\"full\"><\/div><script defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A few tips and notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I&#8217;d recommend combining a tour with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/spanish-riding-school-performances\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"89085\">a performance<\/a> or one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/morgenarbeit-morning-training\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22948\">public training sessions<\/a>. Then you get to see the practical outcome of what the guide talks about. Consider a combi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/spanish-riding-school-spanish-riding-school-b23459\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_SRSCombi\" rel=\"sponsored\">tour &amp; training ticket package<\/a>* for a behind-the-scenes experience at a discount<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The English tours take place most days at the time of writing and ours took just under an hour. At no point did we feel rushed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The riding school is just one of many historical locations that offer guided or self-guided tours of their interiors. I put together a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/tours-historical-buildings\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"58561\">curated list here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Should a tour be impossible for you, you might be able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/spanishridingschool\/#lipizzanerluck\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"278\">glimpse the horses<\/a> from the covered archway that runs alongside the Stallburg or as the stallions move from the stables to the arena and back again<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the tour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>See the end of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/spanishridingschool\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"278\">main article<\/a> for tips on how to reach the riding school within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/hofburg\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2708\">Hofburg complex<\/a> in the very centre of Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time of writing, tours start in the ticket office hall next to the rear display cabinet. Go through the main visitor entrance to just beyond the ticket windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Michaelerplatz 1, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1asmHlbVpicbQLt1557vf6l4l0zQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can stand forlornly outside the Spanish Riding School stables, straining for a peek of a Lipizzaner stallion. Or you can go inside and say hello on a guided tour. The tour: a review (A handsome fellow; photo taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour I went on, though my review [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sights","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41340"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89136,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41340\/revisions\/89136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}