The Spanish Riding School

The Spanish Riding School is the oldest riding academy of its kind in the world, and the only one where the classical horsemanship of the Renaissance has been practised without interruption for more than four centuries, now recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The name comes from the Spanish horses that were the ancestors of the Lipizzaners, the elegant, compact breed that the Habsburgs developed for court and battle; the stallions are born dark and turn white as they mature, and they are bred today at the federal stud at Piber in Styria. Their stage is the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg, built in the 1720s and 1730s by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach: a dazzling white hall with galleries on Corinthian columns, crystal chandeliers and a portrait of Emperor Charles VI overlooking the arena, to whom every rider still salutes on entering. There are three ways to see the horses. The morning exercise, usually around 10 to 11am on weekdays in the season, shows the daily training of riders and horses to classical Viennese music; it is informal, people come and go, the full-scale school jumps are rarely shown, and tickets are the most affordable, roughly 17 to 28 euros depending on seat or standing place. The performances, held mostly at weekends and on selected days, are the full programme in costume, with the famous airs above the ground, the levade, courbette and capriole, and the quadrille of eight stallions; they sell out early and seats in the front rows of the galleries are the ones to get. Guided tours, finally, take you behind the scenes into the Winter Riding School and the stables of the Stallburg. Photography and recording are not allowed during sessions, children under three cannot attend, and there is no cloakroom, so travel light.

What you are watching: classical dressage at this level is the art of developing a horse's natural movements into perfect balance and collection, and the Spanish Riding School's training takes years for each horse and rider. The movements of the haute ecole, from the piaffe, a trot on the spot, to the levade, in which the stallion holds himself on his hind legs at an angle, were originally exercises for cavalry and became ceremonial displays at court. The riders still wear the traditional brown tailcoats and bicorne hats, the saddles and bridles follow historic patterns, and the hall itself, with its music and light, makes even the morning exercise feel like a ceremony. The quadrille, eight stallions moving in mirror image, is the high point of a performance.

Which ticket to choose: if you love horses or want to see the airs above the ground, book a performance well ahead, especially for weekends, and choose a seat in the first gallery for the best view. If your budget or schedule is tight, the morning exercise is excellent value and gives a real sense of the place; arrive a little early for a good spot, and note that the cheapest category is standing room. Guided tours suit those who want the history and architecture. The school's programme varies by season, with breaks when the horses rest or tour, and morning-exercise dates are published only a limited time ahead, so check the calendar before planning around them; tickets can be booked up to a year in advance.

Practical points: the entrance and ticket desk are on Michaelerplatz, at the heart of the Hofburg, a short walk from Stephansplatz and Herrengasse stations. The upper galleries are reached only by stairs, and wheelchair spaces are limited and must be requested in advance. As there is no cloakroom or luggage storage, leave large bags at your hotel. The visit combines naturally with the Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum or the Imperial Treasury, all a few minutes away, and you can often glimpse the stallions crossing the passage to the Stallburg stables from the street.