Caballerizas Reales Córdoba tickets

What the ticket is

The ticket is general entry to the equestrian show Pasión y duende del caballo andaluz, staged at the Caballerizas Reales, Calle Caballerizas Reales 1, in Córdoba's old town. The show lasts about 70 minutes. After you book, your seat assignment and a QR code arrive by email, and the venue scans the code at the gate. The show is marked wheelchair accessible on the booking page, and each date in its calendar carries its own start time.

What you see in the courtyard

Spain's national tourism board describes a show in which the Pure Spanish Horse is the star. Riders show several disciplines to music prepared for the show, and dance numbers join the horses' exercises. The booking page names three traditions: classical dressage, the cowboy riding called doma vaquera, and the high school of riding, alta escuela. A flamenco dancer moves with the horses. Which riders, horses and numbers you see is up to the organisers on the night.

• Classical dressage (doma clásica)
• Doma vaquera, the working rider's tradition
• Alta escuela, the high school of riding
• A flamenco dancer working alongside the horses

General entry or premium

This ticket is general entry. The operator's conditions describe two zones: premium, with entry 30 minutes before the start, and general, with entry 10 minutes before. Premium visitors may take photographs before the show begins, and seats in both zones are numbered. The booking calendar lists the seat options that exist for your date, so compare them there. Some travellers find the general seating uncomfortable late in the hour, so weigh your own comfort when you choose.

Which evenings it runs

The operator's timetable shows the show from Wednesday to Saturday all year, holidays included, with no show on Tuesday and the building closed on Sunday and Monday. It can add extra sessions at special times. The operator's site and Spain's tourism board list different evening start times, and the board notes seasonal change, so rely on the booking calendar and your confirmation for the clock. Seats on popular dates can sell out, so pick your date early. Because the show does not run on Tuesday, and the building is closed on Sunday and Monday, build your Córdoba stay around Wednesday to Saturday if the show matters to you.

How the seats work

The venue assigns your seat and numbers it. Your email shows the seat and the QR code, so open it before you reach the gate. Some travellers describe confusion at the gate over which ticket to show. If the show moves from the covered hall to the open courtyard, the stands differ. The operator says seats that were side by side may then have a stair between them, while the number and category you bought are always respected. Book your whole party in one booking.

Reading the booking calendar

Open the booking page, choose a date and the number of travellers, and it shows what is on sale: start times, seat options and the fare per person. If your date is full, try the next evening, since the operator can add sessions at special times. The widget on this page reads the same live data, so what you see here matches what you can book. Check the options for your date before you pay, because they can differ from one day to the next.

The daytime stable visit

The show ticket is for the evening show only. The operator also runs separate daytime visits to the stables, for individuals and groups, and those visits come with an audio guide in its own free app. If you want to see the stalls and the riding hall in daylight, or watch the horses at work, treat that as a second outing on another day and book it with the operator. Riders' training times vary, so a daytime visit can be quiet or busy.

Booking here or with the operator

The operator sells tickets on its own site too. Those tickets follow its own conditions, which state that purchases are neither refundable nor exchangeable once made. The booking on this page follows the cancellation terms shown on the booking page: free to cancel until 24 hours before the show, with the option to pay later. Both routes lead to the same show. Pick the one whose terms you prefer, and read them before you pay. The booking here lets you reserve now and pay later, so a date can stay open while your Córdoba plans settle, and the free window closes 24 hours before the session.

Seeing the stables by day

If you want the building more than the evening, the operator also offers audio-guided visits to the stables as a separate product, with children's and local rates of its own. Daytime visits allow photographs, which the show does not. The operator says riders' training times vary, so a visit can be quiet or busy, and its visits page lists the days and hours. The building's story has its own note on this site, and it is worth reading before you choose between a visit and the show.

Read next: The Royal Stables of Córdoba

Families and groups

Córdoba's tourism board recommends the show for all audiences, and Spain's tourism board calls it a show for the whole family. Seats are on stands, and food and drink are not allowed inside, so younger children need a snack before you arrive. Groups can ask the operator for a quote, and it takes group payments in two instalments. For a family party, one booking keeps everyone's seats together on the same confirmation.

Who this isn't for

If you want dinner or drinks with the show, look elsewhere: neither is part of this ticket, and drinks are not allowed in. If you plan to film, note that cameras, video and photography are not allowed during the performance. If watching animals perform is something you object to, skip it. And if an hour on a stand is hard for you, choose the seat type carefully or pick another evening plan.