"Time travels by train: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express"

In the late 19th century, train travel across Europe was only for high-end travelers.
It was a luxury reserved for those who had time, money... a symbol of distinction.

Some traveled to learn. Others to escape life without excitement.
And there were those who wanted to get where almost no one else could:
to Romanov Russia, to the spas of the Caucasus, to lands of unknown languages.
Like those who crossed oceans, as in the truncated feat of the Titanic,
or like the great explorers: Marco Polo, Sir Richard Burton, Nellie Bly.

They were months-long trips, filled with soft conversations in dining cars.
Of women with tall hats and trunks with golden initials.

It was glamour in motion. Perhaps also the perfect setting for mystery.
It's no surprise that Agatha Christie chose him to sow intrigue.

The Orient Express connected Venice or Paris with Istanbul, crossing the Alps, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and the Bosphorus.
It was a hotel on rails: art deco lounges, live music, chandelier dinners.
The routes changed over time, but the spirit remained.

Since 1982, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has revived that lost luxury,
with restored original carriages and journeys that feel like a dream.
Departing from Venice or Rome, crossing Europe at night, waking up in Budapest…
There's no rush. Only rhythm, beauty and elegance.

The Trans-Siberian Railway, on the other hand, traveled in the other direction and has never interrupted its journeys since its inception in 1891.
From Moscow to Vladivostok: 9,288 kilometers, seven time zones, more than a week without interruptions.
A universe unfolded outside the window: the snow of the Urals, and the seasons that seemed to glide by in an endless dance.
Smoking samovars in every car.
It was another kind of luxury: that of silence, of being disconnected, of looking without speaking.

Some took it to get to Lake Baikal.
Others, to cross Siberia as if reading a book without skipping a single page.

I don't know when they were forgotten, even though they were always there.
Maybe when time became more valuable than the journey.
Or when we stop looking out the window to look at screens.

But recently, these journeys began to take on another momentum,
to be revalued, to become essential for curious or adventurous passengers.
And the trains are still waiting on the platform.

Just today, I accompanied a friend who was leaving by train.
And as I was sipping my espresso at Ostiense station, I saw him.
There it was, deep blue, gold lettering. The Venice Simplon. Imposing.
And the passengers… some elegant, others discreet.
But all of them, with that look of someone who knows that the Orient Express is not just a train.

🚂 Luxury Trans-Siberian Railway Journey – Moscow to Vladivostok
🚃 Venice Simplon Orient Express – Eastern Europe by vintage train