- The Venice Simplon Orient Express added Monte Carlo to its itinerary from 2027
- The overnight journey from Paris follows the French Riviera
- The route becomes a permanent annual fixture
- Fares start at €4,870 per person
- The addition marks the 50th anniversary of James Sherwood’s purchase of Orient Express carriages
The Venice Simplon Orient Express has added Monte Carlo to its itinerary from 2027. The overnight journey from Paris follows the French Riviera before reaching Monaco and becomes a permanent fixture, with fares starting at €4,870 per person. The addition expands the historic train’s cultural and luxury offering along the Mediterranean coast.
Starting 10 May 2027, the train will depart from Paris on a new overnight journey tracking the coastline of the French Riviera. Operated by Belmond, the route will become a permanent annual fixture in the train’s schedule. The historic dark-blue Art Deco train departs Paris in the afternoon. Following an evening of fine dining and live entertainment, passengers awake to breakfast in their cabins as the train glides along the Mediterranean. The route cuts past the red rocks of the Massif de l’Estérel, winding through coastal destinations like Saint-Raphaël, Cannes and Nice. The train enters the mountainside to terminate directly inside the underground rock-built Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, just steps from the Monte Carlo Casino.
The introduction of Monte Carlo marks a symbolic 50th anniversary. In the autumn of 1977, entrepreneur James Sherwood attended a Sotheby’s auction inside Monaco’s former train station, where he purchased two original Orient Express sleeping cars. This purchase kicked off the restoration project that eventually birthed the modern Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Passengers travel in restored 1920s and 1930s carriages, complete with the Bar Car 3674, standard historic cabins, grand suites and the full-carriage suite, L’Observatoire. Fares for the inaugural Paris-to-Monte Carlo line start at €4,870 per person based on double occupancy in a historic cabin.
