Spanish Riding School (Spanische Reitschule)

A riding school with a long and rich history
Word to the wise: Tickets are often sold out well in advance. Reserve your tickets before you get to Vienna, or as soon as you arrive.

For more than 400 years, Vienna has hosted one of the world's most prestigious, and long-lasting schools for horse dressage. Horsemanship, and a culture of precision riding, has been fostered here since 1735. The Lipizzaner stallions, the descendents of Spanish riding stock, are the main draw here, as they have been for centuries. The skill of the riders, and their mounts, is breathtaking to behold.
Don’t expect the heated movements of a rodeo, or a traditional horse race. Inside the elegant confines of the school, with its grand ballroom like appearance, the horses display a rather more refined set of skills. It’s a different kind of riding, and not to everyone’s taste, but still fascinating to see.