When winter comes around in Vienna, it's time for the chattering classes to brush up on their waltzing skills and hoist on their best dresses and suits for the ball season. Some 300 balls take place here every year, most of them in January and February.

The most famous (or infamous, depending on who you talk to) of them all is the Opera Ball, an annual dancing jamboree at the State Opera House that attracts the Viennese cream of the crop, from the president to renowned opera stars and business executives, while increasingly drawing criticism for its excessive pomp and lavishness, particularly at the time of economic downturn. Other noteworthy feasts are the Hunters' Ball, the Vienna Philharmonic Ball and the Bonbon Ball. And what to think of quirky parties like the Coffee Brewers, the Druggists, the Police, the Confectioners or the Doctors' Ball?

Visitors are welcome to join most balls, though a strict dress code is often enforced. Tickets can often be ordered online from the website of the respective event, with the most popular balls sold out quickly. For more information and links to all balls see www.wien.info.

Photo © Österreich Werbung / Lammerhuber