Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Adventure - 5 days from £2399

Accommodation

Venice - Saturnia International Hotel (4-star)
3 nights. Strategically positioned in the very heart of the city near St. Mark’s square and the Fenice Theatre, this charming hotel is full of traditional Venetian character and elegance and has been run by the same family for four generations. Facilities include a courtyard breakfast-room in the warmer months, attractive bar, famous La Caravella restaurant and the comfortable guest rooms all offer telephone, satellite TV, safe and hairdryer.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
1 night. You will be travelling and sleeping in a private cabin, attended to by a steward. Each cabin has its own original washbasin cabinet with hot and cold water. At night the steward converts your compartment from daytime seating to a bedroom.

British Pullman carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
You will be seated at a table for your journey where you will be attended to by a steward who will serve your meal, drinks and any other refreshments you may require.

Itinerary

Day 1: UK/Venice

Enjoy your short flight to Venice before transferring to your 4-star hotel for your three-night stay amongst the canals and gondolas of the unique city of Venice. Your hotel is situated right in the heart of the city, near to St Mark’s Square. Explore your new surroundings once you have settled in.

Day 2: Venice

Enjoy two days exploring this fascinating city and soak up its unique atmosphere. Take a guided walking tour of the real Venice, the face that many visitors don’t get to see – the backwaters and hidden squares where life carries on much as it has done for generations. Later in the day you will find the pace slows and the city becomes calmer, the ideal time to take an optional gondola ride. Later still, take a stroll and listen to the songs of the gondoliers and the delightful sounds of open-air orchestras that play while visitors sip their drinks as you discover Venice by night.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 3: Venice

Join your Specialist Guide on a journey by private boat to explore the Venetian Lagoon, on which the city ‘floats’. Visit some of the beautiful and relatively unexplored islands, including San Giorgio and Murano - famous for its glassware. On Burano, stroll among the brightly coloured houses and savour local Italian delicacies in one of its fine restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 4: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

The next part of the adventure starts at Venice’s Santa Lucia railway station where you will board the Wagons-Lits carriages of the world-famous Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for your overnight journey to Paris. Your personal steward, who is there to take care of you throughout your journey, will usher you to your private cabin. Settle in and enjoy the ambience of your authentic carriage dating back to the 1920s and lovingly restored by expert craftsmen.

Travelling aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is all about immersing yourself in the glamour and excitement of the golden age of travel and dining is no exception – take your seat in one of the beautiful restaurant cars for your three-course lunch.

Savour the delicious food prepared and presented by a team of skilled French chefs against the backdrop of some of Europe’s most spectacular scenery as your journey takes you through the Italian Dolomites and into the Swiss Alps. Enjoy a sumptuous afternoon tea and then it’s time to get ready for dinner.

They say you can never be over-dressed aboard the Orient-Express and dressing in black tie certainly adds to the sense of occasion. Elegance is the order of the day and after an aperitif in the Bar Car it’s time for a leisurely four-course dinner, before retiring to your cabin made ready for sleep by your steward.

Meals: Breakfast / lunch / dinner

Day 5: Venice Simplon-Orient Express/UK

As you awake in the heart of France your steward will serve you morning refreshments before arrival at Paris Gare de l’Est station. Here you can enjoy a brief opportunity to stretch your legs before being whisked off again from Paris to the French coast during which you will be served with brunch in one of the train’s fabulous restaurant cars. As you reach the French coast you will transfer to a coach for the brief trip by Eurotunnel to the UK.

Once in England you will board your next train - the handsome British Pullman, with carriages also dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, brought back into service after careful restoration. Travelling through the Kent countryside you will enjoy your final fine dining experience with a three-course lunch with a glass of Champagne before arriving at journey’s end, London Victoria station.

Meals: Breakfast / lunch