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Throughout the year in the U.K., Orient-Express offers day trips and short excursions on a vintage train pulling smart and elegant British Pullman carriages. Each of the 11 cars is a masterpiece. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is mythical for a reason. The train runs course from London to Venice, stopping in Paris and Verona on the way. Cars are decked out in Art Deco finery, creating.
For tickets call:020 3327 07611-888-829-47751-855-882-2910.1300 9 000 554 orThe luxury vintage train to Venice.If you can afford it, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Expressis the most romantic and luxurious way from London or Paris toVenice. Its vintage carriages are a delight and the food & on-board service are truly worldclass. Unlike many expensive tourist experiences, thistrain really does live up to its five-star and you won't bedisappointed.Station information:,Also by Belmond:.TheVenice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) is a privately-run train ofbeautifully-restored 1920s, 30s & 50s coaches, providing a5-star luxury trainexperiencebetween London, Paris, Verona &Venice, running roughly once a week from March to November. The journey from London to Venice takes 24 hours and costs £2,365 per person one way, including meals.It's actually two trains, a historic British Pullman train from London toFolkestone and a Continental train of classic 1920s sleeping-cars from Calais toVenice.It is run by Venice Simplon-Orient-Express(VSOE) Limited, part of Belmond, who also operate the equally luxuriousfrom Singapore to Bangkok, theand the. Fares.One-way per person, from.2020pricesLondon to Venice or Verona£2,573Venice or Verona to London£2,200London to Paris£800Paris to Venice or Verona£2,450Solo travellers: The pricesabove are per person assuming two people share a 2-berth compartment in anLX-type type sleeper dating from 1927-1929. If you're a solo traveller,sole occupancy costs the same price if you book a single-berthcompartment in a slightly less intricate slightly smaller mid-1920s-built S-typesleeper, but costs significantly more if you book a 2-berth compartment in an LXsleeper for sole occupancy,.Children: Infantsunder 2 sharing a berth travel free.
Children under 12 sharing acompartment with a full-fare-paying adult get a 20% reduction.The extra-cost cabin suites& grand suites are. Can a 24 hour trainover £2,500 perperson?The Man in Seat Sixty-One says: 'Iadmit I doubted that any 24 hour train journey could be worth that. I wasforced to change my mind after a journey from London to Verona on the VSOE in 2003.
I thought I knew what to expect, but the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express exceeded all expectations, with its superbly restored coaches, excellent and plentifulfood, beautiful Alpine scenery and the world class but surprisingly friendly and unpretentiousservice from the train's staff. And I got far morethan I bargained for on that trip in 2003. Nicolette and I had been goingout for just 6 months and we boarded the train with nothing planned or premeditated, but it weavedits special magic. Our future son's name wasdecided at night in our sleeper somewhere in France, andnext day as the VSOE headed through the Brenner Pass indriving October snow we accidentally got engaged.And here I am now with wife, two kids, a mortgage and a cat. Powerfulmagic this train, so handle with care.
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I'd be the firstto point out that the VSOE is not theasthere's no such thing, but this is one beautifully-restored and truly historic train,superbly run and an utter pleasure to travel on. Ifyou can afford it, this is one train you shouldn't miss.' .You don't have to be a couple toenjoy the trip, a trip on the VSOE is good for solo travellers too - you caneither chill out in privacy of your own compartment or meet people in therestaurants and bar and have a blast. But listen up as solo travellerarrangements not explained well on the Belmond website.The VSOE consists almost entirelyof luxurious LX-type sleeping cars built 1927-1929.
What's a like?(1)at London Victoria.Passengers check in at least an hour before departure at the Venice Simplon-Orient-Expressoffice on platform 2 at London Victoria Station. Check-in opens a coupleof hours before departure. Inside the office is a check-in desk where you're given your Pullman car & seat allocation forthe train to Folkestone and yoursleeping-car letter and compartment number for the Continental train fromCalais. You can check your large bags through to your final destination (butremember you'll need overnight gear for the train), or they can be checkedthrough to Calais to be waiting for you in your sleeper compartment when youboard the continental train. There are lounge seats and toilets inthe VSOE office, and complimentary tea, coffee, water and juice is provided.
A band plays as the train arrives.All change at Folkestone West.(3).The VSOE British Pullman train terminates at Folkestone West, a small station just west of FolkestoneCentral - it ceased going down the steep branch line to Folkestone Harbourstation in 2007. At Folkestone West, passengers transfer to a fleet ofexecutive road coaches which drive from Folkestone West to the nearby ChannelTunnel terminal. After a brief rest stop in the terminal they cross the Channel somewhatun-authentically on board a car-carrying Eurotunnel shuttle train though theChannel Tunnel. But it's quick and an interesting experience in its ownright. Water and juiceare served on board the coaches and if you need to charge your phone or camerathere are UK-style power sockets under the tables. At Calais, the coaches drive off theshuttle train at the Eurotunnel terminal and head for Calais Ville station.Calais Maritime station, where the ferries originally arrived to connect withthe trains to Paris and beyond, was closed and tarmacked overin 1994 following the start of Eurostar services via theChannel Tunnel.
Inside one of the executivecoaches.The coach on the Eurotunnel shuttletrain.(4)Boarding the VSOE continental train at.If the British Pullman train was the hors d'ouevre, now for the main course.At Calais Ville you board the VSOE's continental train of restored blue-and-gold1920s Wagons-Lits sleeping-cars for Paris,Innsbruck, Verona & Venice. You've half an hour to take photos, the trainnormally leaves around 17:20 French time. The VSOE travels to Paris viaVimy, Arras & Longeau as this route is fully electrified, rather than the more traditional'boat train' route via Boulogne and Amiens. A line-up of train staff greets passengers at Calais.Blue and gold Wagons-Lits sleeping-cars.(5).Your sleeper attendant greets you at the door and shows you to your compartment.The VSOE's sleeping-cars are almostall classic1929-vintage LX-series cars with ten 2-berth compartments that convert toprivate sitting rooms with sofa and small table for daytime use. LX sleeping-car corridor.Sleeping-car compartment.Compartment washstand.(6) The piano.The place to go before or after dinner is the VSOE's lively bar car, withlounge area, cocktail bar and piano. Needless to say, the real Orient Expresseven in its 1920s& 1930sheyday would have not have had any such fripperies as a bar or lounge, let alone apiano, just sleeping-cars and a restaurant. It was a much more work-a-daytrain than most people imagine.
The piano-bar-lounge has been created formodern-day tourists out of a former Wagons-Lits Company pullman car built in1931 - but it's still great place to mingle.You'll find a small VSOE Boutique counter in these cars. (7) The three.The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has three restaurant cars, each with uniquedecor: The Cote d'Azur was originally a 1st class Pullman car,built in 1929 and first used on the Cote d'Azur Pullman Express.With its lovely Lalique glass panels, it's my favourite. TheEtoile du Nord restaurant car was built in Birmingham in 1926 for theParis-Brussels-Amsterdam Etoile du Nord Pullman train, it was later usedon the Edelweiss from Amsterdam to Switzerland and the Lusitaniafrom Madrid to Lisbon. L'Orientale was originally a Pullman kitchencar, built in Birmingham in 1927 and also used on the Etoile du Nord andlater the Lusitania, and it features Chinese-style lacquer wall panels.
Soon afterdeparture the Maitre d' comes down the sleeping-cars handing out dinnerreservations. You can choose an early (18:45) or late sitting, although ifyou're only going to Paris you'll need the early dinner. You'll beallocated a restaurant car but feel free to request a table in your favourite. Make sure you experience twodifferent ones at dinner and lunch. The Etoile du Nord restaurant car.L'Orientale restaurant with Chinese-style lacquer panels.(8).Meals are included in the fare on the VSOE, and the food istruly excellent.
Drinks on the Continental train cost extra, reckon onthe cheapest half bottle of wine costing €35, a full bottle €50. A dresscode applies in the evening, for men a dark suit is essential, but the majorityof passengers bring a dinner jacket and bow tie as dressing up is part of thefun. You can't be over-dressed on the VSOE! My favourite hotel search site:is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally prefer booking my hotels all in one place here. You can usually book with freecancellation - this allows you to confirm your accommodation at no risk before trainbooking opens. It also means you can hold accommodation while you finaliseyour itinerary, and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use allthe time when putting a trip together.
I never book hotels non-refundably.I have also come to trust their review scores - you won't be disappointed withanything over 8.0.
The name that suggests luxury! Occasional murder!The name that suggests oysters and champagne and spies in Strasbourg, and late-night Constantinople-bound dalliances in the on-board piano car over cocktails and roulette! And very occasional murder!The name that suggests dinner with nobles, opera singers and stiff-necked diplomats in a restaurant car packed with military medals and waxed moustaches and sure, of course, occasional murder.I would be enjoying all of that grown-up stuff but instead of enjoying it with a 1920s flapper girl or a Wren on the run, I would be enjoying it all with a seven-year-old boy in a smoking jacket. Danny Wallace in his wood-lined cabinI'd had slight misgivings about whether this would work.I'd been looking for something for us to do together; to thank him for being a brilliant big brother to his brilliant little siblings and never complaining that the attention he gets has diluted with the years. I wanted him to have memories of something amazing and timeless we did - just the two of us - as the trip that took us from London Victoria to Calais now pointed us towards France and the mountains and lakes of Switzerland and our final destination: Venice.And as the train heaved itself away, and the cameras came out to glint in the golden-hour sun, the adventure had begun!Which meant my son immediately got the iPad out. As we pull up the blinds the next morning, the window slowly fills with snow-capped mountains as daybreak brightens our cabin'Is this right?' Says my son, adjusting his collar.It's dinner time.
He looks amazing. A passing steward leans down and teaches him how to walk on the train without falling over - a kind of duck waddle, which while practical does take away from the glamour of the night a little, as I honestly believe waddles tend to - and we pass cabin after cabin, seeing moments of stories. A birthday, a treat, a bucket-list tick.The largely French chefs and Italian waiters - who dash outside as the train makes brief stops in towns across Europe to pick up fresh fish, or just-baked bread, and pull it all on board - welcome my son, and agree that while tonight's menu is delicious and the result of many years of refinement, they'll channel their decades of culinary experience into making him a plate of pasta in tomato sauce.I go for the lamb chops. The last time I ate on a train it was a Ginsters pasty and a cheese-and-onion sandwich.
After these lamb chops, I am willing to be the face of a national campaign to stop cheese-and-onion sandwiches being sold on trains. We eat breakfast, and read, and wait for lunch - which are nine of the best words I've ever written - and my son puts on his velvet jacket again - which are nine words I never really expected to write.The voice on the tannoy says 'the dress code is casual', but my boy's made his decision. He's found his look. And that look is 'Child of Wes Anderson'.As we waddle down the carriage, I overhear a semi-famous passenger ask a steward for 'a vegan salmon' - which seems like something you'd have to already have on board, rather than be able to just knock up - and he rushes off to work out how on earth they're going to get that done.Another sees my son and smiles.He reaches into his jacket for something. On board the Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressSoon we'll be on a water taxi, bouncing towards a hotel and the next part of our adventure.But my son says two important things to me before we leave this train.He says that one day he wants to work on the Orient Express, just like the guys he met, just like the guys who gave him the silver pens.And he says that one day, when he's got a son, and when that son is seven years old, he wants to take him on the Orient Express, and he wants to stay in the same cabin we did.So yes. I had my misgivings.
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