Is This the Most Glamorous Way to Travel Through Italy?

This post was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

The phase is set and the cast of characters remain in location. Stylish couples have actually flown in from France and Spain; households are commemorating turning points; and a dapper, moustached gentleman taking a trip solo looks every inch our really own Hercule Poirot. We’re collected in the Italian modernist lounge, where music wanders from a piano and Bellinis circulation easily from the bar. Personnel in spotless uniforms and silk neckerchiefs move in between us, finishing check-ins with sleek performance. Comes the statement: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mario, your train supervisor speaking. Please continue to track 8.” The time has actually concerned board the Orient Express.

Associated with glamour and experience, and, thanks to Agatha Christie, intrigue, the Orient Express is among the most storied journeys worldwide. Released in between Paris and Istanbul in 1883, the high-end sleeper train has actually been born-again lots of times throughout its almost 150 years. Each model has actually constructed on the credibility for high-end, extravagance and high drama, a lot so that even the particular path has actually taken a rear seats to the onboard experience. Part of Accor’s Orient Express portfolio, La Dolce Vita Orient Express released in 2025, putting a mid-century Italian spin on the high-end sleeper-train dream.

My travel luggage is currently waiting in my cabin when I board vehicle A, and my personal butler, Alexia, ushers me in from a velvet-lined corridor hung with riotous retro photos. The 1970s Italian carriages were upgraded by Milan’s Dimorestudio with the work of Italian style greats Gio Ponti and Gae Aulenti in mind. Inside, lacquered orange ceilings, full-length mirrors, leather chairs and patterned materials develop a splendidly maximalist feel. As I’m in a suite, there’s a full-sized bed; Deluxe cabins have a luxurious pull-out couch rather.

As I start to unload, the borders of Rome– we’ve boarded at Ostiense station– escape, and I view the sluggish segue from historical structures to the starts of a parasol-dotted shoreline. Households mess little, rock-lined sands; young children dip toes in frothy browse. A statement crackles through the in-room speaker; it’s Mario, welcoming us to lunch.

Everybody understands that the dining vehicle and the adjacent bar vehicle– in this case, festooned with a full-sized piano, curvy benches and harlequin walls– are where the action occurs on a sleeper train journey. As I sit down at my table, which is curtained in a completely pushed table linen, I take the time to additional study my fellow travelers.

I clock the stealth-wealth jewellery on a Scottish couple; the Russian-American duo talking to the popular English star a couple of tables down. Over my three-course meal, matched with great Italian red wines and soundtracked by jazz over the speakers, the genuine star is Italy, gradually unfolding beyond the window. Steely blue sea and villages; pin-straight cypresses and brushy olive groves on rolling hills.

Quickly, I ‘d discover myself amidst those hills, since aboard La Dolce Vita, the journey off the train is every bit as crucial as the one on it. Every journey is various: a clutch of 2- and three-night paths, the majority of looping out of Rome and back, reaching Venice, Portofino, Matera and, through the train-carrying ferryboat throughout the Strait of Messina, Sicily. I’m on the two-night Italian Wine Route travel plan, so our very first stop comes that afternoon– the vineyards of Montalcino, which is home to among Italy’s most popular red wines: brunello.

It’s not long up until we’re divided off into little groups (visitors select their favored activity when reserving) and a cars and truck blends me up into the vine-laden hills to Tenuta Pian delle Vigne, an estate owned by the well-regarded Antinori wine making household. Along with a number of fellow travelers, I visit the household’s vineyards before settling in at their personal home to taste brunello, accompanied by regional cheeses and treated meats.

The winding drive back in honeyed light through vineyards leaves my eyelids heavy. The hypnotic trance is short-term. Stepping onto the platform, where La Dolce Vita waits for, I’m buoyed by a row of bow-tied artists playing bubbly tunes, a much-needed acoustic sharpener.

It’s an anachronistic sight, this buff-polished blue train, glinting at night sunlight, and as I reboard, onlookers gawp for a little while, as if we’re a phantom, before rushing for their video cameras. A comparable scene takes place each time we slow through a station, or park up by a platform for a couple of minutes. Daily rail guests, finding the Orient Express gold lettering and extravagant interiors, smile, point and snap in acknowledgment.

The theatre of supper starts in the bar vehicle with a Negroni that, after hours of wine-tasting, I do not strictly require however feel is vital. Comes the fancy multi-course banquet created by Michelin-lauded chef Heinz Beck, which opens with parsley sponge with almond and marinaded radish, and beef carpaccio with cherry and brunello gel, before moving on to mezze maniche pasta with mushroom foam. Simply as I’m scraping the last of the vin santo-poached peaches from my plate, the band pipelines through the dining-room, welcoming us back into the bar, where the lights have actually dimmed, the volume has actually been shown up and a performers of bartenders are waiting.

As the lights of somewhere-in-Tuscany blur past our windows, the merry crowd of well-dressed travelers taps tambourines and sings along to Mambo Italiano with the band. At some time throughout their raucous efficiency– assisted, I’m sure, by my extra nightcap– the world outside the windows merely disappears.

In a time when travel is controlled by minimalist interiors, subtle luxe and ‘credibility’ (whatever that truly implies), La Dolce Vita is a company counterclaim, a maximalist riot of escapism, dream and abundant storytelling. The Italy it provides might be genuine or thought of, however that’s not the point. The point is the magic.

3 More Luxury Train Journeys

Belmond Britannic Explorer

The first-ever high-end sleeper train in the UK has actually deserved the wait. Introduced in 2025, the Britannic Explorer has simply 18 sleeper cabins with stylish British botanical-inspired style, meals from star chef Simon Rogan and a ‘wellbeing carriage’ from Wildsmith. 3 nights from ₤ 11,600.

The Ghan, Australia

Zooming through the unwelcoming wilds of main Australia’s red-earth Outback, The Ghan journeys from Adelaide to Darwin, passing through a whole continent of landscapes. Luxurious cabins can be found in numerous classes, from comfy Gold songs to Platinum doubles with breathtaking views. One night from A$ 2,290 (₤ 1,210).

The Rocky MountaineerCanada

This train, squiggling through a few of western Canada’s many impressive mountain surroundings, is the choice if you choose to sleep off-board. You’ll enjoy the panorama unfold outside the big windows by day– or perhaps throughout the ceiling in the Goldleaf automobiles– then leave to check out crucial locations and remain in leading hotels. Two-day journey from ₤ 1,379.

Released in the High-end Collection 2026 by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

To register for National Geographic Traveller (UK) publication click on this link (readily available in choose nations just).