Recommendations
Balls & Ball Season
From November to Carnival, Vienna dances. We put the whole evening together for you, from the ticket to the gown to the sausage stand at four in the morning.
A night you do not visit, you live it
More than 400 balls fill one Viennese season, in the Hofburg, the City Hall, the Musikverein, the Konzerthaus and, once a year, the State Opera. Anyone who has lost their way in the midnight quadrille understands why the Viennese love these nights so much.
The two of us, Martha and Sebastian, are passionate dancers. That is why we turned the ball night into an experience we have created for our guests many times. You tell us when you are in Vienna, we take care of the rest.
At midnight, strangers hold each other by the hand. That is the moment when Vienna is at its most Viennese.
November to Shrove Tuesday
The ball night plus the days before and after
Couples, families with teenagers, small groups, companies
The balls of the 2026/27 season
Every ball has its own character. We listen to what you are looking for, suggest the right evening, get the tickets and reserve your table.
The ball of the Kraml dance school, made by dancers for dancers. Several halls, from waltz and swing to salsa and tango, dancing until morning. The photographs on this page were taken that night.
The confectioners’ ball: sweet, warm and family-like. A cake lottery at midnight, and the young pastry chefs are honoured for their masterpieces.
Vienna Flower Ball
The great hall turns into a sea of flowers. One of the most beautiful balls for anyone who loves to look.
Musically the finest Vienna has to offer. White tie required, tickets gone early.
The coffee house owners’ ball, the most elegant of the Hofburg balls. A coffee house in the state rooms, with the apprentices at the centre of the evening.
The ball the whole world knows. We know how to get tickets and a table or a box.
The ball of the Elmayer dance school: young, charming and full of debutantes.
Plus the New Year’s Eve Ball, the Ball of Sciences, the Doctors’ Ball, the Lawyers’ Ball, the Rudolfina Redoute and many more. Organisers announce the remaining dates one by one; we keep track of them.
You do not need to know how to dance
The sentence we hear most often is: “But we cannot waltz at all.” It has never been an obstacle. There is so much to see at a Viennese ball that many guests barely reach the dance floor all evening, and that is perfectly fine.
- Several halls, several stages. An orchestra in the great hall, jazz next door, a disco in the basement, and bars in every corner. You walk, listen, watch and talk.
- Dance workshops in the middle of the night. Many balls offer short lessons along the way, from disco fox to salsa. Twenty minutes and you have made your first round.
- Young and lively. Balls are long past being an older crowd. The student balls and the Nacht des Tanzes in particular are full of young people.
- Craft is celebrated. At the ZuckerBäckerball and the Kaffeesiederball the young apprentices are honoured, with masterpieces, applause and visible pride. A lovely and very Viennese moment.
- And if you do want to dance: one waltz lesson at Elmayer the day before is enough to step onto the floor with confidence.
The opening
The most beautiful part of the evening begins at ten. The fanfare sounds, the doors swing open and the committee of young ladies and gentlemen enters: the debutantes in floor-length white with tiaras and long gloves, the gentlemen in tails. They have rehearsed for months, and most of them are between seventeen and twenty-five.
Then come the polonaise, a fan polonaise or a choreography, often a singer from the house, and the debutantes waltzing alone in the middle of the hall. And finally the call the whole room is waiting for: “Alles Walzer!” At that moment everyone pours onto the dance floor at once. Nobody who has seen it forgets it.
How a ball night unfolds
Doors open. Hand in your coat, up the grand staircase, a first glass of sparkling wine. If you have a table, this is when you find it.
The opening. Fanfare, the entry of the debutantes, polonaise, waltz, then “Alles Walzer!” and the floor belongs to everyone.
Dancing, watching, talking. Waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, and in between a walk through the halls. Different music in every room, and something else entirely in the basement disco.
The quadrille. The highlight of the night, more on that below. Some balls add a midnight show; the ZuckerBäckerball has its cake lottery.
Something to eat. Goulash soup or a doughnut at the bar, then back onto the floor. The second quadrille comes around two, the music plays until four or five.
The sausage stand. The finest closing note of all: over to the Würstelstand by the Opera, a Käsekrainer in your hand and a glass of champagne with it. In evening dress, in the middle of the night. Very Viennese.
Home. By taxi back to the hotel, the “Damenspende” in hand, the small gift every lady receives at the entrance. We arrange the car, so you do not have to think about a thing.
The midnight quadrille
At midnight everyone lines up in long rows facing each other, couple beside couple, right across the hall. A dance master calls the figures in French. You walk towards each other, swap places, bow and turn, and in the finale the tempo gets so fast that the rows fall apart and everyone laughs.
- Pantalon
- Été
- Poule
- Trénis
- Pastourelle
- Finale
You learn the steps in your waltz lesson at Elmayer; half an hour is enough. If you want a preview: the Fledermaus quadrille is on YouTube with instructions and music.
The package
With us a ball night is never just one evening. We build the days before and after around it, so the ball becomes a stay in Vienna you remember.
The right ball and the tickets
We ask what you feel like: a grand stage or a cosy round, Musikverein or Hofburg, debutantes or the disco in the basement. Then we suggest the right evening, get the tickets and reserve a table close to the dance floor.
Including the Opera Ball: we have done this for guests several times and know which routes actually lead to tickets and to a table or a box.
Gown, tails and tuxedo
A ball begins with getting dressed. If you have nothing suitable in your suitcase, we take you to a rental house or, if you prefer, to buy at one of Vienna’s traditional outfitters. We choose gloves and shoes to match and arrange hair and make-up on the evening itself.
Dress code: floor-length evening gown, tuxedo or tails with a white bow tie. At most Hofburg balls a tuxedo is enough; at the State Opera and the Philharmonic Ball, tails are compulsory. Uniforms and festive traditional dress are welcome.
The waltz lesson
Left waltz, right waltz and a little quadrille for midnight: at the Elmayer dance school, where Vienna has learned to dance since 1919, we book a private workshop. Two hours are enough to step onto the floor with confidence. For teenagers this is often the best part of the preparation.
For teenagers the ball is a real Bridgerton experience: the gown, the gloves, the first waltz in a state room.
The supporting programme
Around the ball night we shape the days: a tour of the State Opera or the Hofburg in the morning, a museum visit at the Kunsthistorisches or the Belvedere, an afternoon in a coffee house, a wine tavern evening to round things off. All at your own pace.
The day after we recommend a late breakfast and a quiet walk. A ball night really ends in the afternoon.
The night itself
We accompany you through the evening, show you the halls, tell you what happens behind the scenes, and know where to find the best goulash soup at three in the morning. For companies and small groups we set up a table of your own with a host.
Taxi dancers can be arranged on request: experienced dance partners who lead you safely across the floor, even if you come on your own.
The way home
At the end the sausage stand by the Opera, a Käsekrainer and a glass of champagne, and then the taxi takes you back to your hotel. We make sure it is there when you need it.
And in the morning the gown hangs over the chair, the shoes stand beside it, and you are still telling the story over breakfast.
Moments from a ball night
Why with us
- We are dancers ourselves. Martha and Sebastian love to dance and are out on the ball floor every season. Nothing here is second hand.
- We have done this many times. Ball evenings for guests from all over the world, from the ticket to the wardrobe to the taxi. For the Opera Ball too, we know which routes work.
- The Vienna Tourist Board trusts us. We regularly accompany journalists to the balls on behalf of the Vienna Tourist Board, giving a running live commentary and translating what is said from German into English, right there in the hall.
- We know the houses. Where the cloakroom queue is shorter, where you sit well, where they play the music you like, and where you can still get something to eat at three in the morning.
- We arrange the unusual things too. Taxi dancers, hair and make-up, a photographer, a horse-drawn carriage for the arrival, a table for your company group.
Good to know
We put every ball experience together individually, depending on the ball, the wardrobe, the dance lessons and the supporting programme. You receive an offer listing every item, so there are no surprises on the night.
The Opera Ball and the Philharmonic Ball need months of lead time; for the other Hofburg balls four to six weeks are enough.
Dance shoes with leather soles, no rubber. Ladies wear high heels for the opening and bring a second pair for the night.
We accompany you in English or German, with running translation in the hall if you wish.
The episode “Waltzing through the City of Music: Vienna” from “The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy” (season 3, episode 2) on Apple TV+: Eugene Levy helps prepare a Viennese ball and learns to dance along the way. Watch the episode
Tell us when you are in Vienna
A ball night is not a sightseeing tour, it is a piece of Vienna you experience with your whole body. Write to us and we will put your evening together, supporting programme included.
