At the start of Agatha Christie’s 1934 Murder on the Orient Express, a certain M. Bouc, contemplating the train’s dining car and his fellow passengers, says to his tablemate, detective Hercule Poirot: “If I had but the pen of a Balzac! I would depict this scene…It lends itself to romance, my friend.” That romance of high-end European rail travel, mothballed for decades, is having a major comeback. The Orient Express Company (part of Accor) will be launching newly built La Dolce Vita trains in 2024 (and is already taking bookings for one- and two-night trips from Rome). Belmond, meantime, which owns 17 of the original Orient Express’s carriages from the 1920s and ’30s, is restoring them and adding itineraries. Here’s what to expect on their Venice Simplon-Orient-Express:
This story is from the March 2023 edition of Town & Country US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2023 edition of Town & Country US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
For Your Eyes Only
A small wedding has many charms. Here's the proof
Anatomy of a Classic
Ballet flats have been around since medieval times. They still know how to have fun.
It's the Capital Gains Tax, Stupid
In the battle for billionaire political donations, the presidential election finally turned Silicon Valley into Wall Street without the monocle.
I'll Have What She's Wearing
Refined neutrals, face-framing turtlenecks, a white coat that says: I've got 30 more. Twenty-five years on, Rene Russo's Thomas Crown Affair wardrobe remains the blueprint for grown-up glamour.
Isn't That RICH?
If fragrance is invisible jewelry, how do you smell as if you're wearing diamonds, not cubic zirconia?
THE MACKENZIE EFFECT
A $36 billion fortune made MacKenzie Scott one of the richest women in the world. How shes giving it away makes her fascinating.
Her Roman Empire
Seventeen floors up, across from the Vegas behemoth that bears her name, Elaine Wynn is charting a major cultural future for America's casino capital, and she's doing it from a Michael Smith-designed oasis in the middle of the neon desert.
Are You There, God? I'm at Harvard
Why on earth are a bunch of successful midcareer professionals quitting their jobs and applying to Harvard Divinity School? Hint: It has nothing to do with heaven.
Bryan Stevenson
He has dedicated his life to defending the unfairly incarcerated and condemned. But his vision for racial justice has always been about more than winning in court.
Emma Heming Willis
Once best known as a model and entrepreneur, today shes an advocate for patients and caretakers dealing with an incurable disease—one that hits very close to home. Here, she speaks with Katie Couric about her mission.
