Europe’s rail network is ever-expanding, and one of the most iconic brands associated with slow, luxury train travel on the continent is undoubtedly the Orient Express.
Fresh off the news that the operator is launching another La Dolce Vita service which loops from the Italian capital to Venice, Matera, Taormina and Palermo, it’s also been unveiled that – 143 years after the original journey to Istanbul was launched – a new service from Rome to Istanbul will be inaugurated later this year.
Described in a press release as ‘the most legendary voyage of all time’, the five-day, four-night itinerary will officially launch on October 22 and journey through some of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes.
It departs from Rome in the evening and heads towards Venice, where travellers will get to spend the day exploring the canals before re-embarking and trundling towards Budapest.
Following that, the train will meander through the Carpathian Mountains – stopping at Brașov and Sinaia, and passing a sprinkling of mediaeval towns – before heading towards Türkiye and concluding in Istanbul.
In classic Orient Express style, the food aboard includes a menu designed by three Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck, and the interiors are ridiculously decadent. Below are some snaps of the carriages and the scenery you’ll glimpse along the way.
All that glamour? It ain’t cheap – in fact, tickets for this itinerary start at €16,640. But hey, it’s the Orient Express, after all. Find more information on the official website.
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