Venice Simplon-Orient-Express: Return to Venice

Boarding the Belmond British Pullman in London Victoria, your suited steward will see you to your wingback armchair as you set off through the Kent countryside in carriages favoured by the Queen Mother and Winston Churchill. As you sip a Bellini and indulge with a gourmet brunch, you’ll notice the train’s exquisite marquetry and brass detailing. Then, following a Channel-Tunnel hop, a white-gloved steward will see you to the polished-wood fineries of your private cabin aboard the fabled Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. A four-course dinner awaits, perhaps capped with a piano-accompanied drink in the bar car before you retire to your cabin, transformed into Egyptian-cotton berths by your host.

You’ll wake to views of the Swiss Alps and breakfast served in the intimacy of your cabin. After some time to enjoy the views, a three-course lunch is taken under the Lalique glasswork of the restaurant carriages, followed by an afternoon at leisure and a selection of pastries, again served in your cabin. Then, after rolling over the Venetian Lagoon to Santa Lucia station, a private water taxi will whisk you along winding waterways to your canal-side palace’s private pier. Here, you’ll be treated to ceiling frescoes, Murano chandeliers and views of the Grand Canal.

While your hotel’s indulgent breakfast is the perfect introduction to Venice’s fine Italian dining, your included walking tour is the perfect introduction to its storied sights. In the company of an expert guide, you’ll wander between lesser-known basilicas and winding alleys before turning to the city’s famous highlights, concluding with a skip-the-queue entry to the Doge’s Palace. Its stern Gothic exterior hides artwork by Renaissance masters. Whether you want to spend the rest of the day on a gondola, exploring Venice’s outlying islands or enjoying a piazza-side glass of wine, this afternoon is left at leisure.

With a private water taxi once more meeting you at your hotel’s pier, you’ll be brought back to the iconic gold-and-blue of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Settling in to the dark-wood beauty of your private cabin, you’ll be treated to spectacular views of the Lagoon and Italy’s rural north as you enjoy a three-course lunch. Then, as you wind up into the Alps, a leisurely four-course dinner is served, with the likes of Brittany lobster and Mont Saint-Michel lamb expertly prepared onboard by French chefs. Of course, it’s all best suffixed by live music and drinks in the opulent bar car.

After a Continental breakfast, served in your cabin at a time that suits you, the train will sweep through rural France for a leg-stretching pause in Paris’s magnificent Gare de l’Est station. It was from here in 1883 that the Orient Express first departed, the station’s colonnaded façade as grand today as it was in the 19th century. Continuing to the French coast, the Channel Tunnel will see you onto the Belmond British Pullman for an afternoon tea and glass of Champagne as the Home Counties slide past. It all ends back in London Victoria Station.