A sleeping car of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
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Luxury Train Journeys

The great hotel trains, from the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to La Dolce Vita Orient Express across Italy.

Last checked October 2026.

A sleeping car of the Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressPhotograph: Pixabay

Al Andalus (Renfe), Spain

  • Seville to Madrid

    Spain's luxury train of restored 1920s carriages, with Grand Class rooms and Deluxe Suites. Its seven-day route runs between Seville and Madrid in either direction, stopping at Córdoba, Cádiz, Jerez, Cáceres, Mérida, Toledo and Aranjuez, with departures from late March to early July and from September to early October.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (Belmond), from Paris

  • Paris to Venice

    Belmond's restored 1920s and 1930s Art Deco carriages run the train's signature overnight route between Paris and Venice in both directions, with variants via Verona and via Florence, across a season that runs from March to December. Suites and Grand Suites sit alongside the historic cabins. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

  • Paris to Venice via Cannes

    A Riviera routing of the same train, running Paris to Lyon, Cannes and on to Venice, offered in May. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

  • Paris to Istanbul

    The train's long-distance journey via Budapest and Bucharest to Istanbul, once a year: eastbound at the end of May and westbound in June. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

  • Villeggiatura journeys to the Italian coast

    Multi-night itineraries that pair a night on the train with stays at Belmond hotels: Paris to Portofino with Belmond Hotel Splendido, and Paris to the Amalfi Coast via the French and Italian Rivieras, with a Pompeii visit and two nights at Belmond Hotel Caruso in Ravello. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

La Dolce Vita Orient Express (Orient Express, Accor and Arsenale), Italy

  • Rome-based journeys across Italy

    Italy's own luxury train, in service since 2025, with 1960s-inspired cabins and suites by Dimorestudio and dining overseen by chef Heinz Beck. Its one- to four-night itineraries leave mainly from Rome for Venice, Tuscany (Florence, Siena, Montalcino, Bolgheri), Portofino, Matera, Naples and Sicily (Taormina, Palermo), with departures across the year. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

  • Rome to Istanbul

    A four-night journey from Rome via Venice, Budapest and the Carpathian Mountains to Istanbul, first running in October 2026, with a return journey from Istanbul to Rome by way of Bulgaria and Vienna, also in October. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

Golden Eagle Danube Express (Golden Eagle Luxury Trains), Venice and Paris to Istanbul

  • Balkan ExplorerVenice to Istanbul

    A 12-day journey eastbound from Venice through Trieste and Slovenia to Pula and Rijeka in Croatia, Sarajevo and Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Belgrade, Sofia and Istanbul, with seven nights on the train. Departures run in the autumn and, from 2027, also in May. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

  • Paris to Istanbul

    An eight-day journey between Paris and Istanbul through Austria, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria, with departures in spring and autumn. Visit website (opens the official site) ↗

That makes 4 trains and 9 journeys in all.

Portugal

None that meets our standard yet. The Presidential, Comboios de Portugal's historic train through the Douro Valley, is a day journey with a chef's menu and Douro wines but no sleeping cabins.

Egypt

None that meets our standard yet. The Guardian of the Nile, a luxury train from Cairo to Aswan, is due in 2027.

Morocco

None that meets our standard yet.

The Mediterranean Season Letter

Where to be, every season

Four letters a year, one for each season: the Mediterranean from spring to autumn, and Beyond the Mediterranean, into the Alps, in winter. The one best hotel to book, and the events worth crossing a sea for.