So how do you get tickets to see the famous Lipizzaner horses in action at Vienna’s Spanish Riding School?
Relatively easily it turns out, especially if you attend something other than a fully-fledged gala performance.
- Range of experiences with tickets for:
- Training sessions in the arena
- English guided tours
- 45-90 minute performances
- Spot the horses out in town, too (tips below)
- Very central location (arena & stables)
- Book tickets* for tours, trainings & more
- See also:
Ticketed options
The riding school lives in the heart of the city with the stables and arena in the very central Hofburg complex. Your best options for seeing the Lipizzaners are…
Public training to music
(The performance arena also hosts the public training. The architecture is almost unchanged since the 1700s. Photo taken with permission of the SRS on a press visit.)
Most of the year, the stallions train in the historical riding arena during the morning, and the school opens one-hour sessions to the public.
Although you miss the full pomp, glamour and scale of the performances, the horses still perform moves and exercises with their uniformed riders. You do need a ticket to see the training, though.
As such, public training offers an excellent way to enjoy the Lipizzaner experience without committing a lot more money to a rarer full-blown performance.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
I thoroughly enjoyed watching a session and wrote about the experience here in detail.
The horses don’t appear every day and not all year round: they may be on a deserved summer holiday. In a typical year, for example, the standard training takes a break for about five weeks from the end of June to early August.
If you buy a ticket on the day from the Spanish Riding School, note that some periods get rather busy and the school has limits on the maximum number of people who can watch. So advance booking* makes sense.
Spanish Riding School tours
(Get a bit closer to the horses; photo also taken with kind permission of the SRS during a press tour)
An English-language tour offers another chance for a suitably equestrian Viennese experience. At the time of writing, the school offers two main alternatives:
- The near-daily guided tour: this takes you inside the actual Stallburg stables (where you can get up close to the horses) as well as the Baroque arena. The two locations are neighbours in the very centre of Vienna
I took this tour and seeing the stallions at arm’s length proved a remarkable experience. They make quite an impression. (I think they know it, too.)
- The guided architectural tour: a less-frequent tour where you also visit the Stallburg, but take a more detailed look at the arena. This includes, for example, a climb up into the latter’s roof with views over Vienna
I also took this tour. Wandering around the roof has a curious fascination to it. Everything up there remains much as it was at the time of construction in 1735.
Occasional tours specifically for children also take place many Fridays.
Spanish Riding School performances
(Entrance of the horses at a Lipizzaner Special; press photo © Rene van Bakel)
The 18th-century riding arena also (of course) hosts the formal 45-minute and 70-minute performances and (rather rare) 90-minute galas, where the stallions show off the full extent of their skills.
These shows usually take place around weekend dates. Expect periods, though, where the stars of the stable enjoy a well-earned break.
The performances count as one of Vienna’s flagship events for tourists and locals alike, so tickets can go quite fast. Both formal seating and (comparatively inexpensive) standing room tickets* should be available.
(Public entrance to the riding school)
In recent years, the institution has also presented occasional alternative display programmes alongside the more traditional full performances. None are scheduled for the first half of 2025 though (at the time of writing).
See the horses outside
Another option is to see the stallions for free, though you need time, patience and luck.
Stallburg
(The vaulted public path outside the stables)
You can wait outside the stable areas for the horses to transfer from their accommodation on days with a morning training or a performance, for example.
Go to Reitschulgasse 2 just outside the central Hofburg complex and face the wall. To your right down the vaulted walkway you find the entrance to the Stallburg stable courtyard.
You can only pass through that entrance on a guided tour.
However, if you stand nearby before, during and after the times of a training or performance, you might see some stallions walked into or out of the courtyard by their riders or grooms as they head to and from the riding school arena on the other side of the road.
(The Stallburg renaissance stable building)
The bits of straw and the signs of cleaned up horse dung you sometimes see outside the Stallburg entrance prove the validity of this tactic. I’ve actually spotted the horses this way several times by chance on walks through town.
Equally, you can look into the courtyard of the stables from the vaulted walkway and maybe catch a glimpse of a Lipizzaner poking his head out to catch sight of onlookers.
However, you really can’t beat a proper tour for eye-to-eye contact.
Burggarten
(Park paddocks)
The riding school also has outdoor paddocks in the nearby (public) Burggarten park, where horses have the opportunity to enjoy some space and fresh air.
It’s a matter of chance, though, whether the paddocks are in use at any particular time. For a long long time, I never spotted a horse there, until one day this happened…
(The horse’s riders were also on hand and happy to chat)
I also got lucky twice when horses and riders walked past me as I crossed the park.
As expected, the stallions conveyed their usual magnificent impression: the park visitors (me included) just stopped and stood in absolute awe.
(A stroke of luck: spotting an early-morning autumnal ride through the Burggarten)
How to get to the riding school
The Spanish Riding School visitor centre (also the entrance to the arena and where you meet for tours) forms part of the Hofburg Palace complex in the city centre.
Look for the signs under the giant dome (Michaelerkuppel) just inside the entrance to the Hofburg area on historical Michaelerplatz square.
You probably stroll past as you wander around the central sights, but you can also reach the visitor centre on bus 1A or 2A using the Michaelerplatz or Habsburgergasse stops.
Alternatively, take a short(ish) walk from:
- The U1 (Stephansplatz), U2 (Volkstheater or Museumsquartier) and U3 (Herrengasse or Stephansplatz) subways
- The Ring/Volkstheater, Burgring, and Oper/Karlsplatz stops on the trams 1, 2, 71, and D
Address: Spanish Riding School (visitor center and entrance), Michaelerplatz 1, 1010 Vienna | Website