Contact & FAQs

Basically, the guest room in horse-drawn carriages is built for 4 adults. In addition, 1-2 small children of elementary school age can sit on the laps of accompanying persons. For bookings of more than 4 adults, 2 horse-drawn carriages are required.

Passengers are not allowed to ride on the carriage ram next to the coachman himself!

Please ask at the pre-arranged meeting point for the Paul or Riding Dinner carriage reserved for you. The coachman also has the name you provided when making the reservation and the telephone number you provided. If you can't find each other on site, they can contact you promptly.

You will always receive the exact meeting point, including address and orientation features, automatically with the booking confirmation.

If the carriage is not ready for you at the agreed meeting point at the agreed time, we ask you to be patient for 2 minutes — we are traveling with real horses and not with mechanical cars.:) That is why all our carriage rides are marked with a duration of “approx.”

If your horse-drawn carriage is still not on site despite waiting a while — only then do we ask you to call us directly: +43699 11 09 1803.

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Together with the City of Vienna, classic horse-drawn carriage tours in the 1st district rely on fixed prices instead of “price dumping” or negotiation.
Accordingly, the prices are set by law by the entrepreneurs and the City of Vienna for the following carriage rides starting from the parking spaces:

• 20 min.: €60, - per carriage (max. 4 people)
• 40 min.: €105, - per horse-drawn carriage (max. 4 people)
• 60 min.: €140, - per horse-drawn carriage (max. 4 people)

Prices for any special or additional services, such as: hotel pickups or exits, deviations in duration, special carriage or horse requests, trips on private property (Schönbrunn Palace Park) and theme trips (in particular riding dinners or “secrets of the horse-drawn carriage”) may be designed by the Fiaker companies themselves.

To make it easier for you to get started, all of our historic carriages have low-level intermediate stages. Our coaches/staff is also very experienced and will be happy to help you get on and off. Collapsible wheelchairs or strollers can usually be easily carried at the front of the coachman. Guests who are dependent on an e-wheelchair can store it in lockable metal boxes at the horse-drawn carriage stands.

Dogs are very welcome at Fiaker Paul. Your four-legged companions are welcome to ride with us and enjoy the experience together with you, as long as there is enough space.

Yes, we generally travel 365 days a year. Exceptions are extreme weather conditions. In such cases, we will promptly contact you and inform you of any alternative options. In particularly critical weather conditions, we reserve the right to cancel the carriage ride. In such a case, you will of course receive a 100% refund.

All our carriages are weatherproof and can be understood as convertibles. The carriages all have lockable roofs and windows on several sides that protect against wind, rain or snow — the change from an open to a closed carriage or vice versa can be made on site within a few seconds.

Especially in cold seasons, we provide additional comfort with warm, cuddly blankets.

As the only horse-drawn carriage company in Vienna, this experience offers you an unadulterated look into our stables, behind the scenes of our craft and the age-old horse-drawn carriage tradition. The approximately 90-minute tour starts in the morning directly in our stable in the 11th district. You'll learn everything about our horses, animal welfare, care and the over 300-year history of the Viennese horse-drawn carriage before taking the carriage straight to the city center.

Yes, we offer a discreet and festive setting for your most important moments. Our special marriage proposal packages include an exclusive trip, Viennese delicacies sparkling wine, petit fours and red roses. Thanks to our flexibility guarantee, you can rebook free of charge up to 24 hours in advance in case of bad weather so that your moment is perfect.

You can find more information about this premium offer from our partners from Riding Dinner.

The classic carriage ride is an atmospheric city tour through the alleys of Vienna. Riding Dinner, on the other hand, transforms the carriage into an exclusive experience space: In specially converted carriages with table equipment, you can enjoy upscale cuisine during the trip — from an aperitif to a 3-course dinner, accompanied by your personal butler service on request.

For us, cleanliness is a sign of respect for the city of Vienna and its residents. Since 2004, we have been using “pooh bags” (collection devices) developed by ourselves, which collect horse apples directly. Disposal is carried out professionally at the Fiaker stands in the specially provided horse manure containers provided by the City of Vienna. This keeps the cityscape clean.

The education and training of our horse-drawn carriage follows the ethical philosophy of Antonie de Plivinel, who has been regarded as the founder of non-violent horse training since the 17th century — his guiding principle back then: Basic trust instead of coercion.

We give our horses time. Training only starts at the age of four or five and lasts around five to twelve months. Even though every horse around us humans today grows up with motorized equipment/vehicles, certain physical and character traits form the basis for further training to become a fiaker horse. Not every horse is suitable for this. Thanks to our cross-generational experience and our expert staff, we have extensive knowledge about horses and carriage rides, which allows us to train our horses ourselves.

Our training to become a horse-drawn carriage consists of three main phases:

1. Phase | Basics and coordination — on our 15 ha horse farm in Arbesthal near Göttlesbrunn:
   In doing so, we learn with our horses the gaits relevant to riding a horse-drawn carriage (step and work streak) to perfection, as well as the basics of communication between humans and horses. Especially in this phase, there must be so-called basic trust and closeness between horse and human. Because only under these conditions is a horse willing to accompany people everywhere in every situation.
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2. Phase | Carriage riding in pairs — on our horse farm in Arbesthal near Göttlesbrunn, and in the surrounding area:
   On our training lawn, the horses practice driving curves properly, as well as stopping and starting off together in front of the carriage. If that works well, we drive our horses through the surrounding vineyards and neighboring villages. It is particularly important in this phase that our horses have sufficient time to evaluate new situations and get to know the new environment in which they are moving. In addition to mutual trust, patience and time play an important role here.
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3. Phase | Step-by-step integration into our everyday lives — Schönbrunn/Innenstadt:
   In this phase, the horses consolidate the knowledge they have learned and apply it to their new “workplace.” There is no fixed speed that we follow here. Much more must be addressed to the individual needs of the respective horses and a good rhythm must be found that does not overwhelm the horses.

In this way, we ensure that our horses carefully accept their task of driving a carriage and travel with us fearlessly and reliably in city traffic.

If you have any further questions about training our carriage horses, do not hesitate to contact us directly at any time.

Out of respect and morality towards our horses, we neither sell nor slaughter a horse. All our horses remain part of the family even after their active time as horse-drawn carriages. They spend their retirement as seniors on our farm in Arbesthal-Göttlesbrunn. On request, our horse farm can of course also be visited.

By the way, the slaughter of fiaker horses is prohibited by law in Vienna.

Our horses usually retire when they are around 20 years old. At the end of their days, they usually reach the age of around 30 years.

The number of working days for Fiaker horses is regulated by law in Vienna and set at 18 days a month. That is equivalent to a 4-day week. Every horse today has a microchip which allows the authorities of the City of Vienna to specifically check compliance with this regulation.

At Fiaker Paul, horses work according to a conscious rotation principle, which gives the horses additional vacation in addition to the legal days off. They spend it at our company's own horse farm in Arbesthal, where we have a total area of 15 ha (equivalent to an area of around 22 soccer fields). We therefore offer our horses significantly more opportunities for free exercise than is required by law.

No — carriage rides in compliance with all legal requirements cannot in fact be described as animal cruelty, even on warm summer days in Vienna, according to independent institutions such as the “Veterinary Office of the City of Vienna” and the “University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.”
This claim is supported in particular by a statement from the Veterinary Office Vienna in a Court case against an NGO clearly. In it, the Vienna Veterinary Office claims that since records of accidents/incidents involving fiaker horses began around 20 years ago, it has been proven that not a single horse has collapsed due to “heat.”
The city's veterinary office is required to check every incident involving horse-drawn carriage. In general, the Veterinary Office is increasing the intensity of health checks on fiaker horses on particularly warm days, above 30 degrees.

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In addition, the VetMed University of Vienna 2025 has the result of a 2024 self-financed study entitled”Study on heat stress and heat tolerance in Viennese fiaker horses“published. In the study, a total of 58 horse-drawn carriage (including many of our horses active in the city) were accompanied for one year and 764 scientific surveys were carried out.

In particular, the following parameters were collected (morning + afternoon at the warmest time of the day):

• Respiratory rate
• pulse rate
• body surface temperature
• Stress hormones in faeces
• general behavior

Key findings:

The results provide important data on the individual heat tolerance of fiaker horses in Vienna.
The horses showed no clinical signs of heat stress over the course of the entire study.
The documented reactions to temperature differences support the assessment that fiaker horses are physiologically well adapted to heat.

Further studies and expert opinions:

- A similar study was also published in 2009:”Heat measurements in fiaker horses“— Here too, the study came to a similar overall conclusion. However, the study was criticized by NGOs in the past as “out of date.”

- Another study on heat compatibility in carriage horses was also carried out in Mexico:”Study on the effect of heat on carriage horses (Mexico)“(English)

- Dr. med. vet. Hans Christ:”No danger for horse-drawn carriages“

- Dr. Kaun:”Only horse expertise can help“

-”How do the horse-drawn carriages do in the heat“

- Dr. med. vet. Isabella Copar:”Even after a warm day, 90 percent of the animals are not wet from sweat even in the area of the reins“

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Vienna has some of the strictest animal welfare laws in Europe. From a temperature of 35 °C (Innere Stadt measuring station), there is a legal driving ban, the so-called “heat-free”. If the measurement value is reached, all horse-drawn carriages must leave the city center and go home. Carriage rides that began before reaching 35 degrees Celsius may be completed by law. If your trip is cancelled due to heat, we offer free cancellations or refunds.

If the heat regulations are not complied with, entrepreneurs and coachmen face severe fines of several thousand euros.

We strictly comply with these guidelines and are guided by scientific studies from relevant areas, such as the study by the Vetmeduni Vienna, which show that horses do not suffer from heat stress when taking breaks and taking water supply. In addition, our coachmen regularly check our animals and know them very well. Should a horse's health be affected in any way for unexpected reasons - this can be identified early on by our expert staff and appropriate measures can be taken quickly.

The Well-Being of Our Horses is the Basis of Our Family Tradition and Our Daily Work. Our philosophy is based on respect and species-appropriate husbandry. We ensure this through strict standards:

• Limited working hours and regular, long breaks.
• Constant supply of fresh water and high-quality feed.
• Regular Veterinary Checks and Hoof Care.
• Spacious stables and daily exercise in the countryside.
• Strict compliance with the “heat-free” rule in summer.
For us, our horses are members of the family. You are welcome to contact a Convince stable management of this personally.

Our classic round trips start at the official horse-drawn carriage stands in the 1st district, primarily at the Albertina and Stephansplatz. We strongly recommend booking online via our website. This is the only way we can guarantee you your desired time and avoid waiting times. For exclusive experiences such as honeymoon trips or riding dinners, the pick-up location will be arranged individually with you.