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What is the Venice Simplon Orient Express? Where
does the Orient Express run?
The
Venice Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) is a privately-run train of
historic and beautifully-restored 1920s, 30s & 50s coaches, providing a
classic luxury train
experience
between London, Paris, Innsbruck, Verona &
Venice. It runs roughly once a week between March & November,
with
occasional extra trips to Rome, Krakow, Budapest and even (once a
year in August) Istanbul. The Venice Simplon Orient
Express is actually two trains, a daytime Pullman train from
London to Folkestone and a Continental train of 1920s
sleeping-cars from Calais to Paris & Venice. It is run by Venice Simplon Orient Express
(VSOE) Limited, who also operate the equally luxurious
Eastern &
Oriental Express from Singapore to Bangkok, the
Royal Scotsman
cruise train and the PeruRail trains to Machu
Picchu. A journey from London to Venice on the Orient
Express takes 24 hours and costs around
£1,800 per person one way, including all
meals but excluding drinks. It should not be confused
with the real Orient Express, the true descendant of the
original 1883 Orient Express, which was a regular scheduled train which
was finally withdrawn on 12 December 2009,
see here for a full explanation! However, if you can afford it,
the Venice Simplon Orient Express is the most wonderfully
romantic and luxurious way to reach Venice, and its vintage
carriages are a piece of history in themselves. The
food & on-board service are truly world class. Unlike many
expensive tourist experiences, this train really does live up to its
five-star and you won't be disappointed!
2012: None Jan or Feb. March 22, 29; April 12, 19, 22, 26; May
3, 6, 13, 17, 20, 27; June 7, 17, 24, 28; July 12,
19, 26; August 16, 23;
September 16, 20, 23, 27; October 7, 11, 18, 21, 28; November
1, 8. None Dec to Feb.
Departure dates from Venice, Verona & Innsbruck to Paris
& London:
2012: None Jan or Feb. March 21, 28; April 11, 18, 21, 25;
May 2, 5, 16, 19, 30; June 6, 13, 16, 27; July 18,
25; August 15, 22; September 19, 22, 26;
October 10, 17, 20, 31; November 7. No departures
Dec to Feb.
For a really
special occasion but without the cost or time of going
all the way to Venice, you can experience the Orient
Express Pullman on a lunch trip (from £190), evening
dinner trip (around £250), day trip (£180-£395), or
(personally recommended!) dinner on the Orient Express
Pullman with a night at the famous Ritz hotel (£520 per
person). The food and wine are truly excellent,
these trips may be an extravagance but they're worth it!
Other destinations: The V-S Orient Express also
runs occasional
departures to Krakow, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Rome and even to
Istanbul (departing Paris on 2 September 2011 & 30 August 2012), see
www.orient-expresstrains.com.
Orient Express fares 2012...
(Per person)
One-way:
Return:
Single supplement:
London to Venice
£1,830
£2,750
£290 one-way, £435 return
London to Paris
£570
£1,140
-
Paris to Venice
£1,530
£2,300
£290 one-way, £435 return
Can a 24 hour train journey
to Venice really be worth £1,830 per
person?
I
have to say that
initially I doubted it could. But after
experiencing it I changed my mind - it
certainly can! Travelling on the Venice Simplon
Orient Express meets and indeed exceeds expectations, both in
terms of the superbly restored historic coaches, the
beautiful Alpine scenery, the remarkably good and plentiful
food and the excellent but surprisingly unpretentious
service from the train's staff. Personally, I have no
hesitation in saying 'yes' for another reason as well. Nicolette and I
boarded the train with nothing planned or premeditated, but it weaved its special magic and before the wagons-lits
reached Verona we were engaged... Whilst I'd be the first
to say that this train is not the 'original' Orient Express, it's a beautifully-restored and historic train,
beautifully run, and an utter pleasure to travel on. So if
you can afford it, this is one train you shouldn't miss.
Travel agencies fall over themselves to sell you tickets for the
Orient Express, but it's easiest &
cheapest to book online direct with Venice Simplon Orient
Express at
www.orient-expresstrains.com.
This way, you pay no commission or booking fees, and can
immediately see actual availability on different dates, rather
than having to wait until your travel agent gets back to you.
If you feel like packing some lucky loved one off to Paris or
Venice, you can buy
Orient Express gift certificates.
One-way on the Venice Simplon Orient Express, return on
regular trains... If you're only taking the Orient
Express one way, don't fly the other way, as flights are
unnecessary. Just take the regular overnight 'Thello' sleeper train
from Venice to Paris, with 2-berth
sleepers & restaurant car available, then a morning Eurostar from
Paris to London. It makes an interesting comparison! See the
London to Italy by train page for all
you need to know. Alternatively, for a scenic daytime
journey, I recommend taking an afternoon train from Venice to
Zurich via the amazing Gotthard Pass route through the Swiss
Alps, staying overnight in Zurich, then returning to London on a
morning TGV-Lyria to Paris and Eurostar home,
full
details here.
'Double cabin' versus 'suite cabin': The Venice
Simplon Orient Express uses classic 1929-built 'LX'
sleeping-cars with ten compartments, each fitted with an upper
and lower berth convertible to a sofa for daytime use.
Adjacent pairs of compartments have an interconnecting door.
'Suite cabin' simply means occupying two adjacent compartments
with the interconnecting door locked open, giving you twice the
floorspace, two washstands (his and hers?) and two lower beds
rather than an upper and lower (or an upper and lower berth in
one compartment, a sofa in the other, it's your call!). In
other words, it is not a different type of compartment, it is
simply two compartments used as a suite. Incidentally,
'cabin' is an incorrect term for a sleeper compartment on a
train, ships have cabins, trains have compartments!
Book withwww.railbookers.com,
one-way Orient Express, 4 or 5-star hotel in Venice, return
by scheduled train...
www.railbookers.com can arrange a tailor-made trip for you to
your own specification, for example Eurostar & high-speed
TGV-Lyria from London to Zurich, 1 night at the fabulous Hotel
Schweizerhof (a favourite hotel of mine!), onward travel through
the Alps via the scenic Gotthard route to Venice, 3 nights
4-star hotel in Venice, then by superb Venice Simplon Orient
Express from Venice to London, all from around
£2,179 per person. Railbookers take
great care of their clients, and come highly recommended.
UK residents can call them on
020 3327 0761, US residents call (646) 770 2894
(please quote seat61), Canadian residents call (416) 800 0732
(please quote 'seat61'), and Australian residents can call their
Australian office,
www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550.
The Venice Simplon Orient Express is in fact two separate
trains, a British Pullman train from London to Folkestone and a
Continental sleeping-car train from Calais to Venice. You
must check in
an hour before departure at the Orient Express lounge on
platform 2 at Victoria Station, where your heavy bags are taken
and put in the baggage van. Make sure you retain an
overnight bag with everything necessary for the journey.
The London-Folkestone Pullman train...
After checking in at the Orient Express lounge on platform 2 at
Victoria station, you board the train of restored British Pullman cars dating
from the late 1920s, 30s and 50s bound for
Folkestone. The Pullman cars consist of plush armchairs in
open saloons, arranged as intimate 'tables for two' each side of
the aisle. Most cars also have one private 4-seat compartment at
the end which can be requested if you'd prefer privacy.
It's strange how 80 years of ergonomics haven't produced
anything as luxuriously comfortable as a 1920s Pullman seat! The train
leaves around 11:00 on most Thursdays and some Saturdays between March
& November. Champagne is served immediately after
departure, followed by an excellent early lunch with wine served
by the steward in charge of each car (lunch & drinks on the UK
Pullman train included in the
fare). The train follows one of
the original 'boat train' routes (there were in fact several) through
the Kent countryside to Folkestone.
www.orient-expresstrains.com
features a brief history of the career of each individual VSOE
Pullman Car, worth checking as the history is fascinating, many
of the cars having links with famous Pullman trains or even
famous people. Some cars were used on the 'Golden Arrow'
boat train between London & Dover, others on the 'Brighton
Belle' between London & Brighton, a couple were used on Winston
Churchill's funeral train, and so on...
The Pullman train from London to Folkestone.
Inside Pullman
car 'Minerva'
Crossing the Channel...
The Pullman train terminates at Folkestone West (a small station
just west of Folkestone Central), where passengers transfer to a
waiting fleet of executive road coaches. Until 2007 the
VSOE went down to Folkestone Harbour to meet the buses, reaching
the Harbour station via a slow
descent of the steep 1 in 30 gradient on the weed-strewn branch line to the seafront,
a historic line once used by regular boat trains. The coaches cross the Channel somewhat unauthentically on
board a vehicle-carrying shuttle train though the Channel
Tunnel. At Calais, the coaches drive off the shuttle train
at the Eurotunnel terminal and head for Calais Ville station.
Calais Maritime station, where the ferries originally arrived to
connect with the trains to Paris and beyond, was closed and tarmacked over
in 1994 following the start of Eurostar services via the
Channel Tunnel.
The Venice Simplon Orient Express continental train...
At Calais Ville, the continental train of restored Wagons-Lits
sleeping-cars is waiting to take you onwards to Paris,
Innsbruck, Verona and Venice. The sleeping-cars, almost
all superb
1929-vintage 'LX' series cars, have 1- & 2-bed compartments that
convert to private sitting rooms with sofa and coffee table for
daytime use. There are not one but two or three dining
cars, each with individual design and decoration. One
features Lalique crystal decor, another Chinese motifs.
Different meal sittings are served in each - you can experience
all of them! There's also a bar car, complete with
armchairs and a grand piano - though neither bar nor piano were historically a feature of the
Orient Express! Meals and afternoon tea are included in
the fare, but drinks are extra on the Continental train. Reckon
on over £11 for a (very good!) half bottle of wine.
www.orient-expresstrains.com
features a brief history of the career of each individual
sleeping-car.
The Orient Express
continental train boarding at Calais. Each sleeper
has its own sleeper attendant.
Dinner on the Orient Express in one of
the continental train's three elegant ex-Wagons-Lits restaurant cars.
Near right: A 2-berth
compartment in one of the Orient Express's 1929-vintage LX-series sleeping-cars, in daytime mode with sofa
folded out...
Far right: The same compartment in night-time
mode with the two beds folded out, blind down and ladder
in place. Probably the most comfortable bed I've
slept in on any train worldwide...
Compare these pictures with the
'day' and 'night' pictures of the 'LX' sleepers'
direct replacement, the 1964-1974 'MU' sleepers, at the top of
the sleeper page.
Incidentally, trains don't have sterns or bows, or port
or starboard. They also don't have cabins, as they
are not a ship! The correct term is 'compartment',
not cabin.
Above:
There are two or three restaurant cars on the Orient Express
continental train, each with very different decor. Try
to get a meal in each one!
Each
sleeper compartment has a washstand - there are no showers on a 1920s
train!
A suit
is essential, but most passengers bring a dinner
jacket...
The scenery you'll see on the way...
In spite of its name, the Venice Simplon Orient express no longer uses the Simplon Tunnel between Switzerland
and Italy, but is routed overnight from Paris via Basel to
Zurich, then through the Arlberg Pass to Innsbruck, through the
Brenner Pass to Verona and on to Venice. You'll probably
wake up after Zurich, with Swiss lakes outside your window when
you put up the blind, as fresh croissant, fruit juice and
excellent coffee are delivered to your compartment. The train cuts across a
few miles of Lichtenstein before crossing into Austria via the
spectacularly scenic Arlberg
Pass (see the photos below). The railway hugs the valley
wall, snaking along the mountain sides. After Innsbruck
the train turns south through the equally scenic Brenner
Pass from Austria into Italy to reach Verona. Turning east
again, the train reaches Venice Mestre on the mainland, then
rumbles slowly over the causeway with anticipation building,
finally arriving at Venice Santa Lucia terminus on the very
shores of the Grand Canal in central Venice, walking distance
from the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square...
Above: Mountains in Switzerland seen from the train...
...as breakfast is served in your compartment.
Above: The Venice Simplon Orient
Express snakes through the Arlberg pass between
Zurich and Innsbruck...
Is the Venice Simplon Orient Express the 'original' Orient
Express?
No. Not least because there was no 'original' Orient
Express. The Orient Express was a service, not a physical
train of coaches, and it used different rolling stock at
different times in its history, and in any case it required
several sets of coaches to operate, not just one (think about
it: You can't run a daily service from Calais to Istanbul
taking 3 nights with just one set of coaches!). In
addition, most of the VSOE's sleeping-cars are 1929-built 'LX'
series cars which were not generally used on the Orient Express to Istanbul at
all, but being the
Wagons-Lits Company's premier sleeping-cars they were used on trains
such as the Train Bleu from Calais/Paris to Nice & Monte Carlo, the Nord
Express from Paris to Berlin, Warsaw & Riga, and the Rome
Express from Calais/Paris to Rome. However, VSOE also own
a couple of 'S' class sleepers dating from 1927 which were
used on the original Orient Express services to Istanbul &
Athens, at least before WW2 (after WW2 they were replaced
on the Orient Express routes by the more modern Z class).
The 'S' class sleepers are less glamorous than the LX's, with
slightly smaller compartments than the LX cars, and they lack
the intricate wood marquetry decoration that distinguishes the
LX. There is, in fact, a real Orient Express, the true
descendant of the first 1883 departure, now a regular scheduled
overnight
train between Strasbourg and Vienna - all is revealed on
the Orient
Express page.
The Venice Simplon
Orient Express was started
in 1982 by James Sherwood of Sea Containers Inc., who acquired
the first batch of 'LX' series sleeping-cars for the VSOE at
auction in Monte Carlo in 1977. For a history of the
(real) Orient Express
from 1883 to the present day, see the Orient
Express page
Pullman day trips around the UK...
In addition to its London-Folkestone duties in connection with
the continental train to Venice, the VSOE's British Pullman cars
are also used for a programme of day-trips and excursions around
the British Isles, typically £190-£350 per person. Venice
Simplon Orient Express Ltd also owns a set of more modern cars
dating from the 1970s which is used on excursions in the north
of England. See
www.orient-expresstrains.com.
Orient Express journeys to Rome, Krakow, Budapest, Prague,
Istanbul...
As well as its regular run to Venice, the continental train also
runs occasional services to Vienna, Budapest and Rome, and even
(once a year in August) to Istanbul. See
www.orient-expresstrains.com.
See the video...
This 'Blue Peter' Orient Express special gives a pretty
good idea of what a journey from Venice to London is
like aboard the
Venice Simplon Orient Express...
If you've been on the Orient Express (or even if you haven't!),
the Venice Simplon Orient Express has an
online gift shop, with
official souvenirs, posters, travel accessories, luggage and
more...
If
you want to learn more about the Orient Express, you can click the pictures to buy these
books online at Amazon. The book on the left has
more about the history of the Orient Express, the book on the
right concentrates on the restored Venice Simplon Orient
Express. Also
recommended is 'The Orient Express - The life and times of the
world's most famous train' by E H Cookridge. Although out
of print, you can buy it second hand through Amazon - click
here for details. The
Orient Express also features heavily in fiction...
Murder
on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (actually set on
the Simplon Orient Express, as she knew full well)
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Alternatively, for somewhere special to stay in London, Paris or Venice before
or after your Orient Express journey, try
www.mrandmrssmith.com, which lists hand-picked boutique
hotels in each of these cities and popular destinations
worldwide.
