Horse riding holidays in Europe

Horse riders in an Exeter landscape — Horse riding trips are a great way to reconnect with nature

(Image credit: Jacques Van Dinteren / Getty)

Few things are as thrilling as an equestrian adventure. From multi-day desert treks to gentle countryside hacks, a horse riding holiday is a great way to explore your surroundings and reconnect with nature. Here are some of the best places to saddle up.

Le Barn, France

This former equestrian farm just an hour from Paris is now a “stylish and welcoming retreat where every room looks out on to meadows”, said Kate Johnson in The Guardian. Located in the Rambouillet forest, the sprawling property shares 500 acres with a “world-famous” horse-riding training centre with “plenty of riding on offer” for all abilities. But the real draw is the magical weekly Whisperer’s Experience which teaches you how to “forge a connection by working on foot with a free horse and using your body language and exercises” to “build trust” and communicate with one of the elegant animals. “Be warned, it’s emotional.”

Reschio Hotel, Italy

Set amid the “quite outrageously beautiful” rolling hills and olive groves on the Tuscany-Umbria border, this 11th-century castle is home to a 36-room hotel and collection of farm buildings, said Steve King in Condé Nast Traveller. As well as offering an array of activities from wild swimming to truffle hunting, the estate is a “noted breeding and training ground for Andalusian horses”. Even if you don’t fancy taking a lesson, “you’d be mad not to go and pay a visit to the stables and see with your own eyes these extraordinary, otherworldly creatures”.

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São Lourenço do Barrocal, Portugal

Vineyards and meadows “stretch out as far as the eye can see” at this 200-year-old estate in Portugal’s Alentejo region, said Chloe Frost-Smith in The Times. Riders can hack through “old cork forests and archaeological trails scattered with neolithic stone circles”, and end the day with a “canter towards the hilltop village of Monsaraz to catch the sunset”. There are plenty of other activities, too, from olive-wood carving to wine tasting at the surrounding vineyards.

Gleneagles, Scotland

This iconic Scottish hotel in the heart of Perthshire is one of the world’s “loveliest” spots for “golfing, relaxing and exploring the bonny lands beyond”, said Lydia Bell in Condé Nast Traveller. It’s also home to an excellent equestrian centre offering a jam-packed schedule of horse-riding lessons and walking tours. Facilities include two covered, heated show-jumping arenas, a large livery and woodland cross-country hacking.

Hollacombe Farm, Exmoor

And if you want to “take your horse on holiday”, consider checking into this self-catering property on the edge of Exmoor National Park, said Johnson in The Guardian. Set on “private rolling farmland”, the self-catering converted stone barn features “stabling and grazing for three horses”, and host Louise is “on hand as a guide”. Days are easy to fill riding through the “heather- and gorse-covered moorland” or galloping the length of Salcombe Sands beach. Bliss.

Irenie Forshaw is the features editor at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.