Spanish Riding School

The oldest riding school of its kind in the world, where white Lipizzaner stallions perform the classical haute école in a Baroque hall of the Hofburg.

A riding arena at the court is first recorded in 1565, and the name comes from the Spanish horses on which the Lipizzaner breed was founded. The Winter Riding School, the white hall with its gallery and coffered ceiling, was built by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach for Charles VI and completed in 1735; the horses are stabled across the street in the Renaissance Stallburg. Today the stallions are bred at the federal stud in Piber, Styria. In 2015 the school's classical horsemanship was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

There are three ways in, checked on srs.at in September 2026: the full performance from €26, the morning exercise — a working session with music, far less formal — from €17, and guided tours of the hall and stables from €24. The cheapest performance seats have restricted views, and on busy days morning exercise means a long queue at the door.

For most visitors the morning exercise is the sensible choice; buy a performance ticket well ahead if you want the full choreography. Check the calendar, as the horses have performance breaks. See also Vienna's palaces.