There is a symmetry to this story that feels almost too neat. In 1977, two original Art Deco sleeping cars from the Orient Express went under the hammer at a Sotheby's auction in Monte Carlo. The buyer was James B. Sherwood, founder of Belmond, and those two carriages became the seed of an entire restoration project. Five years later, the revived Venice Simplon-Orient-Express rolled out on its inaugural journey. Now, in 2027, the train will finally pull into the very place where its second life began.
Belmond has confirmed that Monte Carlo will join the train's European programme on 10 May 2027, with an overnight service from Paris that will run annually before continuing on to Venice. The route hugs the Mediterranean coast after dark, slipping past the red cliffs of the Massif de l'Estérel, then threading through Saint-Raphaël, Cannes, and Nice before burrowing into the mountainside and emerging at the Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, hidden beneath the rock. It is a theatrical arrival for a train that has always understood the value of a grand entrance.
The carriages themselves remain the star. Restored interiors draw on the glamour of the Art Deco era, with midnight-blue exteriors that have become instantly recognisable. Passengers can choose from Historic Cabins, Suites, or Grand Suites, but the most coveted space is L'Observatoire, a carriage conceived with French artist JR. It comes with a bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with a freestanding bath, a living room, a library, and a concealed tearoom. This is not a mode of transport so much as a private gallery that happens to move.
Dinner unfolds in one of two restaurant cars, Étoile du Nord or L'Oriental, where the sommelier's wine pairings accompany a menu that leans into classic French cuisine. Afterward, cocktails and live piano drift through the lounge car as the train clicks southward. By morning, breakfast arrives in your cabin, and the landscape has shifted from Parisian rooftops to the glittering Riviera. It is the kind of journey that makes you forget you are travelling at all.
The timing of this announcement is no accident. It lands 50 years after the auction that saved the train, and Belmond's Area Managing Director for Trains in Continental Europe, Pascal Deyrolle, calls the addition a "natural continuation" for a route that has always been tied to European glamour. The new service also sits alongside Villeggiatura by Train, Belmond's collection that pairs rail journeys with stays at its Italian hotels, so you can extend the trip into a longer holiday if you wish.
Fares for the Paris to Monte Carlo leg start at €4,870 per person, based on two people sharing a Historic Cabin. That price covers the overnight journey, 24-hour steward service, meals with selected wines, unlimited soft drinks, and transfers. It is not cheap, but then again, this is a train that has never pretended to be otherwise. For those who want to see how the other half travels, it is a once-in-a-lifetime splurge.
Monte Carlo itself needs no introduction, with its casino, harbour, and Grand Prix circuit. But the train adds a new layer to the principality's allure, a way to arrive that feels lifted from a different era. If you are already dreaming of high-speed rail adventures across Europe, this is the opposite end of the spectrum, a slow, deliberate, and utterly indulgent way to travel.
For rail enthusiasts, the news also lands alongside other developments in the world of train travel, from newly crowned beautiful stations to free passes for young adults. But nothing quite matches the romance of the Orient Express. The 2027 debut will close a circle that began with a single auction lot in Monte Carlo, and it promises to be one of the most anticipated journeys in luxury travel.
