The Orient Express is back. In 2023, the legendary train will be used on various Italian routes. There are also connections to Paris, Istanbul and Split. This was reported by the French group Accor, owner of the Orient Express. For the initiative – which has been named La Dolce Vita – a collaboration with the hotel group Arsenale has been created.
In total, trips will be offered on six trains on distinct routes across 14 Italian regions. The trains have six cars and can carry a total of sixty-two passengers. In Rome, travelers can stay overnight at the Minerva, the first hotel to operate the Orient Express brand.
Hotel Minerva, located in a Baroque palace on Piazza di Minerva in the center of the Italian capital, is set to open its doors in two years. Subsequently, additional sites were planned in London, Paris, Milan and Florence. The Orient Express will also have its own lounge at Roma Termini Train Station.
Italian history
Accor also collaborates on the show with Trenitalia and Fondazione FS Italiane. The trains cover a distance of more than 16,000 km. Roads spanning 7000 km that are not yet electrified are included. “Often these routes provide access to remnants of Italian history,” said Orient Express spokespersons.
The trains were designed by the agency Dimore, which was founded eighteen years ago by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran. There are twelve luxury cabins, eighteen suites, balcony suites, and a restaurant on board.
Train decoration should reflect the design and creativity of the 60’s and 70’s. Celebrity chefs and bartenders are also being partnered to give passengers a five-star stay on the train.
The Orient Express La Dolce Vita offers a new way to explore the country. “The journey should become an eco-adventure, exploring forgotten routes, discovering hidden treasures and bringing out architectural splendor.
sustainable travel
However, the initiators add that La Dolce Vita also wants to meet the requirements of modern transportation.
“After all, a train journey is a sustainable mode of transportation,” emphasizes Luigi Corradi, CEO of Trenitalia. “La Dolce Vita should give a boost to luxury rail tourism, which also provides a safe and sustainable mode of transportation, where the environment is optimally protected.
The history of the Orient Express goes back more than 150 years, when Belgian engineer Georges Nagelmakers, after learning about the phenomenon of sleeper trains in the United States, created the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits.
The road connects Paris with Vienna and Venice. Later, other destinations were added to the show.
Thirty years ago, the French group Accor acquired a majority stake in Wagons-Lits. But soon the heyday of sleeper trains began to fade.
Twelve years ago, the Orient Express made its last trip. After all, the service can no longer compete with the supply of high-speed trains and cheap regional air connections.
Thereafter, the name continued to be used for a number of international connections, including Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) and Belmond. But with this new luxury program, the real Orient Express is celebrating its birthday.
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