Foto Orient Express is coming to Istanbul again
The first flight is scheduled for October 22, 2026, writes euronews. In five days and four nights, passengers will cross Europe through Italy, Hungary and Romania, combining a gastronomic tour, historical excursions and the atmosphere of the “golden age” of rail travel.
The journey will begin in the Orient Express lounge at Rome’s Roma Ostiense train station. Guests will be welcomed with champagne, traditional Italian aperitivo and live music before boarding a train decorated in the aesthetics of 1960s Italy. The interiors were designed by Dimorestudio of Milan: polished wood, brass, vintage textures and soft light create an atmosphere of cinematic luxury of the Fellini era.
The creators of the project paid special attention to gastronomy. Chef Heinz Beck, the owner of three Michelin stars, prepared the menu for passengers. On the way, the guests are promised full restaurant service, evening music programs and author’s cocktails.
The route is conceived as a journey through the cultural map of Europe. After the first night the train arrives to Venice, where passengers will be offered walks along the lagoon and thematic excursions in the footsteps of Casanova. The train will then travel to Budapest, the “Pearl of the Danube” with its palaces, thermal baths and Austro-Hungarian architecture.
Then the train will cross the Carpathians and stop in the Romanian cities of Brasov and Sinaia, one of the most picturesque regions of Transylvania. The final point of the route will be Istanbul, a city at the junction of Europe and Asia, where passengers will arrive almost a week after departure from Rome.
The new Orient Express is betting not only on nostalgia for the era of luxury rail travel, but also on the growing global demand for exclusive slow travel – a format in which the road itself becomes the main experience.
