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Train: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Train Type: Luxury
Introduction/History:
When you board the Venice Simplon-Orient Express (VSOE) train, you feel as if you are becoming part of a glamorous history. This train, with its restored, 1920s vintage cars, is the world’s most authentic luxury train.
Why take it? When you see it standing in a station, sparkling in its navy and gold livery and snowy white roof, it takes your breath away. The cars are old-fashioned: they are coal-heated; windows open to the fresh air. There is no air conditioning. Toilets are down the hall; there are no showers.
But on board, we feel, these negatives melt away. The spirit and beauty of the train and the high level of service throughout, and the five-star level of the food and wine, envelopes one in a giddy, joyful aura. We would take it all over Europe every year if we could. The train can take about 100 passengers.
The train's mystique is such that its image is constantly in demand to portray elegance, beauty, sophistication and romance. Click here to see its stylized image, as seen through the eyes of French perfume and beauty product icon Chanel.
New Itinerary: Check out our new "Orient-Express Romantic Italian Holiday." Click here for details.
Accommodations
Sleeping compartments have Pullman-style beds (one up, one down) that fold into a comfortable sofa during the day. A sink in a lovely, closing vanity is fitted into the corner. All amenities are supplied, and then some. Itineraries are designed to dodge the reality that there are no showers. Do what Agatha Christie did: Stop at fabulous hotels along the way.
Dining
There are three gorgeous dining cars: one mainly with marquetry; another with Chinese lacquered walls with bright animals; and a third with Lalique crystal insets. The management of the dining cars is superb. For starters, a maitre d’ visits you during the day before meals to reserve your table. He rotates travelers among the three diners; you can request dining for two or four at your preferred seating time. The dining experience is five-star both in food quality/variety and service. One of the reasons is people are not all seated at the exact same time. Instead, seatings are staggered, and this allows the staff to properly welcome and serve each diner.
Lounge Cars
The lounge car is decorated in the Art Nouveau style. Fresh flowers adorn the tables, and a pianist entertains in the evening. It’s a perfect place to read Le Monde by day, enjoy cocktails before dinner and a nightcap after dinner; perhaps you’ll decide, like one traveler did on our trip to Istanbul, to dance the Charleston in her period dress. The lounge car can get very crowded, too, but the staggered dining helps with this issue.
Other
For discriminating travelers, we recommend booking a cabin suite. This means booking two connected cabins. This way, both members of a couple get lower beds; each gets a sink. And obviously, there is more room for spreading out. Dressing up is part of this experience, and tuxedoes (at the least, dark suits and ties) and cocktail dresses are the norm for dinner.
There’s something about traveling on such historic cars. One of our favorites: Sleeping Car 3309 was part of the 1929 service which was stuck in a snow drift 60 miles outside Istanbul for 10 days. Passengers and staff survived only with the assistance of nearby Turkish villagers.
Journeys Available on this Train
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