Luxury Trains in Europe

Luxury trains in Europe

If there’s one continent where you can fully experience the history and grandeur of rail travel aboard a luxury train, it’s Europe. After all, Europe is where the train was invented and the first railways were built. It’s Europe that is home to iconic luxury trains like the Orient Express, though it’s far from the only lavish rail experience you can enjoy on its railway tracks.

Below, you’ll find a full overview of every luxury train in Europe, including information about their itineraries, the destinations you’ll visit, the on-board facilities, and much more.

Pan-European luxury trains

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

If you’re looking for a true luxury travel experience that captures the glamour of 1920s and 1930s rail travel, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is the perfect choice. Owned by the luxury hospitality and leisure company Belmond, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is perhaps the most renowned of all luxury trains in Europe. Often referred to by its abbreviation, VSOE, this European luxury train primarily operates routes from London and Paris to Venice. It also offers longer itineraries across Europe, including destinations such as Istanbul. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express features original luxury compartments from the 1920s and 1930s, along with newly built en-suite compartments that combine modern amenities with Art Nouveau design.

Golden Eagle Danube Express

The Golden Eagle Danube Express is a luxurious hotel on wheels that typically operates multi-night tours across Central and Eastern Europe. Sample itineraries include trips to the Christmas markets of Central Europe, visiting cities such as Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich, as well as tours of the Balkans and long journeys across the continent, such as from Budapest to Istanbul via Romania and Bulgaria. Guests enjoy the highest levels of comfort on board, as the Danube Express features spacious en-suite sleepers and elegant lounge and dining cars where high-quality food and drinks are served.

UNITED KINGDOM

British Pullman

The British Pullman is a glamorous vintage train offering day and weekend trips across Britain. Owned by Belmond, it features beautifully renovated luxury coaches dating from the 1920s to the 1950s. It once served as the British leg of the London to Venice VSOE service.

Northern Belle

The Northern Belle is a luxury train offering day and weekend trips across the UK. Its name pays tribute to the Belle trains of the 1930s, referring to the weekly Northern Belle land cruise operated by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1933 to 1939.

Royal Scotsman

The Royal Scotsman, a Belmond luxury train, offers 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 night tours through the Scottish highlands in Edwardian elegance. Guests can look forward to a gourmet adventure in the Scottish Highlands, with the finest food, wine, and whiskies.

Britannic Explorer

The Britannic Explorer is a luxury overnight sleeper train traveling from London to Cornwall, Wales, the Lakes and beyond. It pays homage to the Great British railway history and tradition of touring while offering modern-day luxury and fine dining.

ITALY

La Dolce Vita Orient Express

The brand-new La Dolce Vita Orient Express, a luxury train operated by Accor, is set to launch in 2025. It will offer multi-day journeys across Italy, allowing passengers to experience a life of luxury, pleasure, and indulgence while travelling through stunning destinations like Venice, Florence, and Rome.

SWITZERLAND

Glacier Express

The Glacier Express, linking the ski resorts of St Moritz and Zermatt in Switzerland, is perhaps the world’s slowest express train, taking nearly eight hours to cover its 290-kilometre (180-mile) route. However, this allows ample time to admire the breathtaking Swiss Alpine scenery from the comfort of its luxurious panorama carriages. Excellence Class, the highest travel class, offers a five-course regional meal accompanied by wine and champagne.

GoldenPass Express

The GoldenPass Express is a unique panoramic train that can automatically adjust its gauge, allowing it to travel on both narrow-gauge and standard-gauge tracks along the highly scenic rail route from Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva to Interlaken in the heart of the Swiss Alps. In the highest travel classes on board, you can even indulge in champagne and caviar.

frANCE

Le Grand Tour

Le Grand Tour is a luxury train offering an immersive 6-day, 5-night journey through France. The team at Puy du Fou, which operates the train, entertains passengers with immersive shows and gourmet dining, with menus carefully crafted by French Michelin-starred chefs. The train features a Belle Époque design and offers accommodation in spacious en-suite compartments. On your Grand Tour of France, you visit cities and sights such as Reims, Beaune, Avignon, Carcassonne, La Rochelle, and Mont Saint-Michel.

SPAIN

El Transcantabrico

The narrow-gauge Transcantábrico train takes 8 days and 7 nights between San Sebastián and Santiago de Compostela (or vice versa), stopping at wonderful destinations such as Santander, Oviedo, Gijón, and Bilbao. This luxury train is named after the Cantabria region it traverses, one of northern Spain’s most beautiful areas, renowned for its wild coastline, lush green hills, and towering mountain peaks in its interior.

Al Andalus

The Al-Andalus is a Spanish luxury train that operates multi-night tours across the southern region of Andalucía, visiting stunning destinations such as Seville, Córdoba, and Granada. The train boasts a magnificent Belle Époque décor throughout its carriages, with glamorous first-class rooms that evoke the elegance of the 1920s while offering modern amenities such as en-suite bathrooms, along with top-quality dining in its charming dining car.

Costa Verde Express

The Costa Verde Express is a luxury narrow-gauge train that travels along the green and mountainous northern coast of Spain, offering a six-day, five-night journey between Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao (or vice versa). With comfortable rooms, excellent gastronomy on board, and excursions to the most beautiful cities of the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia, guests travelling on the Costa Verde Express have much to look forward to.

AUSTRIA

Majestic Imperator

Austria’s Majestic Imperator is a luxury train that captures the grandeur of the Habsburg era, taking guests on trips through Central Europe. With carriages adorned in palatial Fin de Siècle décor and fine dining fit for royalty, you almost feel like Emperor Franz Joseph or Empress Sisi. The Majestic Imperator offers day trips around Austria, such as from Vienna to the scenic Semmering Railway Line or from Vienna to the baroque Hof Castle, as well as multi-day tours across Central Europe and northern Italy.

PORTUGAL

Presidential Train

Portugal’s Presidential Train dates back to 1890 and hosted kings, presidents, and popes for over a century until its retirement from government service in 1970. The train now takes paying passengers across Portugal, offering an experience of true luxury and fantastic gastronomy on board. Sample quality food and Portuguese wines as you travel along the country’s most scenic railways, such as the line from Porto to Pocinho, which runs alongside the River Douro and vineyards where the grapes for Port wine are grown.