Venice Simplon-Orient-Express adds Monte Carlo to its 2027 luxury train journeys

Nearly half a century after two historic sleeping cars were bought at auction in Monte Carlo, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is preparing to return to the principality — this time carrying passengers.

Belmond has announced in a press release that it will introduce Monaco to the train’s European programme on 10 May 2027, with the new Paris–Monte Carlo journey scheduled to operate annually before continuing towards Venice. 

The overnight departure will leave Paris in the train’s familiar midnight-blue carriages, whose restored interiors draw on the Art Deco era. Accommodation ranges from Historic Cabins to Suites and Grand Suites. At the most private end is L’Observatoire, a carriage conceived with French artist JR, containing a bedroom, an en-suite bathroom with a freestanding bath, a living room, a library, and a concealed tearoom.

Nightfall brings dinner in either Étoile du Nord or L’Oriental, the two restaurant cars, followed by cocktails and live piano. By morning, breakfast is served in the cabins while the railway turns towards the Mediterranean. The line skirts the red cliffs of the Massif de l’Estérel, then threads through Saint-Raphaël, Cannes, and Nice before entering the mountainside and reaching Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, buried beneath the rock.

The destination is a natural fit for a train associated with ceremonious arrivals, but it also closes a historical circle. As Haute Living notes, in 1977, Belmond founder James B. Sherwood acquired two original Art Deco sleeping cars at a Sotheby’s auction in Monte Carlo. Their purchase launched the restoration project and the revived Venice Simplon-Orient-Express made its inaugural journey in 1982. The 2027 debut therefore comes 50 years after the auction that helped return the train to the rails.

Pascal Deyrolle, Belmond’s Area Managing Director for Trains in Continental Europe, has described Monaco as a place with a longstanding role in European travel and said adding it was a “natural continuation” for the train. The route will also sit alongside the second season of Villeggiatura by Train, Belmond’s collection connecting rail journeys with stays at its Italian hotels.

Fares for the Paris–Monte Carlo section start at €4,870 per person, based on two people sharing a Historic Cabin. The price includes the overnight journey, 24-hour steward service, meals accompanied by the sommelier’s selected wines, unlimited soft drinks, and transfers. Beyond the casino, harbour and Grand Prix circuit, Monaco’s newest expression of glamour will be by rail: through the Riviera landscape and, finally, into the station hidden inside the principality’s coastal stone.