La Dolce Vita Orient Express to launch rail route linking Rome with Istanbul in October 2026.
The legendary Orient Express name is returning to one of its most evocative routes this autumn, with the inaugural departure of La Dolce Vita Orient Express from Rome to Istanbul announced for 22 October.
The five-day, four-night journey will be operated by Italian group Arsenale in partnership with Accor, owner of the Orient Express 1883 brand, marking a new chapter for a train that has become one of Italy’s most talked-about luxury travel propositions since its launch.
A journey between two imperial capitals
The Rome-Istanbul itinerary is explicitly framed as a homage to the original Orient Express service that linked Paris to Constantinople in 1883, though with a newly Italian point of departure.
Departing from Rome, the train calls at Venice – long regarded as the symbolic gateway between Europe and Asia – before crossing into central Europe for a stop in Budapest, where passengers can revisit the grandeur of the Austro-Hungarian era.
The route then enters Romania, with pauses at Brașov and Sinaia, two towns characterised by mediaeval architecture and mountain scenery. From there, the train crosses into Turkey and terminates in Istanbul.
The reverse itinerary, from Istanbul to Rome, follows a slightly different routing through south-eastern Europe. Passengers travelling in that direction pass through Plovdiv and Sofia in Bulgaria, Timișoara in Romania and Vienna before arriving in Venice and then Rome Ostiense.
Shore excursions at each stop – including private guided tours of Plovdiv’s Roman theatre, an after-hours visit to Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, and water-taxi transfers in Venice – are offered as optional extras.
Design and gastronomy
The train’s interiors were designed by Dimorestudio, the Milanese studio known for its approach to mid-century Italian aesthetics, and are styled around the elegance of the 1960s.
Culinary direction is entrusted to Heinz Beck, the three-Michelin-star chef whose flagship restaurant, La Pergola, is one of Rome’s most celebrated dining destinations.
Beck’s menu draws on Mediterranean seasonal produce and is served in a dedicated restaurant carriage, with live piano and vocal performances in the bar carriage each evening.
Literary atmosphere
The Istanbul terminus carries its own literary associations. The city is where Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express while staying in room 411 of the nearby Pera Palace hotel, and the historic Sirkeci station – the original Orient Express terminus – is currently undergoing restoration with the possibility that it may be ready to receive passengers again by autumn.
Background
La Dolce Vita Orient Express has been operating Italian domestic and short-international routes since 2023, when Arsenale – which holds a long-term concession from Italian state railway Trenitalia – introduced itineraries linking Rome with Sicily, the Dolomites and other destinations across the peninsula.
The Rome-Istanbul service represents the train’s most ambitious international extension to date, and the first time it will cross multiple borders on a single journey.
Bookings are open via the Orient Express website. Image: Dolce Vita Orient Express. Photo credit: Mr Tripper.
