If comfort and impeccable service is what you’re seeking, while rolling through Europe’s diverse landscapes, then the Venice Simplon Orient Express is the ideal trip. I was lucky enough to experience this once-in-a-lifetime train journey in March 2025 and there is no better way to pass two days and a night. First, I took the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris and had lunch opposite the Gare Nord station in 'Terminus Nord'. The brasserie’s 1920s ambience and white-gloved staff got us in the mood for a trip back in time, into the golden era of travel. A night in Paris in Kirker favourite hotel Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain also builds anticipation for the train trip ahead.
The next day, I found a procession of pristine, uniformed attendants waiting for us at Paris’s southeast train station Gare Austerlitz. They serenaded us on trumpets while the Orient Express porters took our bags. The pomp and ceremony felt very regal, as did the train. Our cabins were decked out beautifully in reconstructed period styles and each carriage had a butler who attended to our very need.
It was relaxing watching the world go by from the train window, unwinding in the big squashy armchairs and reading a John Le Carre novel.... or dozing off to the rhythm of the train. We passed Burgundy vineyards and the landscapes of the Grand Est of France (Haute Marne, Vosges and Haut Rhine) before winding into Switzerland not far from Basel. We skirted around the Swiss Alps and lakes all the way to Innsbruck in Austria, where we would spend the night.
Before dinner I spent a good hour or two in the bar car, sipping cocktails inspired by the destinations we passed. Dinner in the blue car was a highlight. Everyone was smartly dressed and wine pairings accompany a meal which is easily the best train food you will ever have! After dinner, the night gets going in the bar car with live piano jazz and singing, and a convivial atmosphere of passengers getting to know each other.
We woke to dazzling views of Austrian lakes and snow-capped mountains which continued through the Brenner pass to Italy and the Dolomites. Stops at regional stations allowed passengers to get out, walk around and take in fresh mountain air. We wove through Trento, Lake Garda and Verona, then east to our dramatic finale – the spectacular sea crossing to Venice. On arrival in Venice we took the Kirker private water taxi along the grand canal to Hotel Sina Centurion Palace in Dorsoduro district. This was a smooth transition into the busy city and kept the relaxed feeling you get on the Orient Express. Sunset was the best time for it, as we could watch the colours changing in the sea and Venice's magnificent palazzi glowing. The private boat ride is exclusive if you book with Kirker and softens the blow of leaving the beautiful train behind.
