Hi Ho Silver! The Spanish Riding School

Horses? Check. People in fancy uniforms? Check. A beautiful venue in Vienna? Oh yeah. It can only be the Spanish Riding School. Last person I talked to about this school of dressage assumed it was in Madrid or somewhere similar. Fortunately, it is in a much nicer location—central Vienna, right by the Hoffburg. The best hotels in Austria are in this area, so you might even get one overlooking this gorgeous piece of architecture.

So, if you love horses, it’s a fantastic place to visit. Avoid July and August, though, because the 70-odd horses there are taken to the nearby summer stables to relax. At any other time of year, you can watch some of the training sessions, as well as the performances. Book early, though, because tickets are extremely popular.

The Spanish Riding School is the oldest of its kind in the world, dating back to around the 1570s. The school as we know it was built in the 1730s, and it was designed to train horses for war. The Spanish part of the name comes from the Spanish horses that were bred to create the Lipizzan breed of horses. Other than that, it has nothing to do with the Spanish.

Fortunately for us, the Spanish riding school opened its gates for the paying public in 1918. This was because it needed a bit of cash after the First World War. The performances proved to be extremely popular, and they continue on today.

So, what can you expect from one of the performances? Generally, a performance will start with the youngest horses that are just beginning training. They'll demonstrate the basics that they have been taught, and then move on to allow the more experienced horses to perform. These experienced horses will perform an Olympic-standard routine. The next part of the performance shows how the training progresses. You'll see how they are trained to do jumps, tricks, and other stunts. This offers a fascinating insight into how professional horses are trained, and it is a sight that will delight any horse lover.

You will notice that most of the riders do not have stirrups. This just serves to demonstrate the rider’s prowess with the horses. The final quadrille is one of the most difficult in the world to perform, and these riders perform it flawlessly.

If you're in Vienna, and you want to see some truly astounding moves, you can forget the local nightclubs or your hotel bar—the Spanish riding school offers an exhibition of beauty, grace, and glamour.

Viennese Waltz

We love staying in Vienna. Whether it’s at the end of a long cycling trip (see the Donauradweg cycle route) or at the start of a new trekking adventure, Vienna offers diversions galore. Vienna is food, is wine, is beauty, and is culture.

Our trips to Vienna often start with an intense planning session in our hotel room. Where have we been, where haven’t we been, and where shall we wander. We try to include as many sights as possible, although sometimes we still don’t have enough time to see everything!

The Spanish Riding School is one of the oldest dressage schools in the world. Sure, it’s a bit pricy, but the elegance of watching horses trot in complex patterns, jump over gates and barriers, and generally be controlled by expert hands is a pleasure in itself. Not to mention the architecture. Book well in advance, however, as tickets are sold out very quickly.

Schönbrunn Palace and the zoo accompanying it are classic Baroque marvels that can take all day to explore. You mustn’t miss a tour of the residence and the chance to admire the opulent surroundings. We loved the Tirolian gardens there and nearly became lost. Fortunately, we stumbled across one of Vienna’s big secrets: a surprisingly good puppet show hidden near the back of the gardens. The zoo has everything a zoo could want: pandas, giraffes, and thousands of butterflies. The Borneo exhibition is always worth a look, although it does get very warm in there.

Vienna’s Ringstrauss (ring boulevard) is an awe-inspiring piece of architecture. Around four miles long, it circles the city center like a set of walls; indeed that’s where the city walls were until they were torn down in 1857. For a lovely walk, start at your hotel and follow the boulevard around. On the way, you’ll encounter the State Opera House, the Museum of Fine Art, and the Austrian Parliament.

If it’s food you want, we would recommend the sublime Hotel Sacher in Philharmonikerstrasse. It’s the ultimate in Viennese cooking. If you’re after something less pricy, try the M Lounge in Hermanngasse or the Restaurant Der Kuckuck in Himmelpfortgasse. Both are excellent restaurants serving great Austrian food. We felt the M Lounge was very cheap for the food it offered, and we were surprised it wasn’t full when we went there after our epic cycling trip.

Finally, you must visit Vienna’s historic center. It’s like looking at an old photo of how city centers used to look and then realizing you’re in the present. Vienna has so much to offer every visitor, from great zimmers, apartments, and hotels, to delicious food, great coffee, and amazing attractions.

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