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Enjoy a slower pace and ultimate luxury aboard these opulent rail routes, from Japan to Italy.
Published October 7, 2023
6 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
A high-end train journey enables you to experience destinations at a unique pace and in total comfort while enjoying first-class service. These are some of the most exciting luxury rail routes to have on your radar.
1. GoldenPass ExpressSwitzerland
Switzerland’s GoldenPass Express takes passengers from the resort town of Montreux to Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland. It’s a three-hour ride with four departures a day (in both directions). For added luxury, opt for Prestige class, where heated leather seats recline and rotate 180 degrees. They’re also raised 15 inches higher than those in other carriages, boosting the views over vineyards, plunging valleys and blue-ice glaciers. With a menu featuring caviar from nearby Frutigen and bottles of crisp Duval-Leroy Brut Champagne, this promises to be a short but very sweet service.
How to do it: A one-way Prestige class ticket costs CHF128 (£115).
2. Royal ScotsmanScotland
With its tweed interiors, soft woollen throws and Bamford bathroom products, the Royal Scotsman is already an opulent way to make one’s way through the wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands. From May 2024, passengers will be able to reserve two new Grand Suites, featuring large double beds with embossed bedheads, wall-to-wall carpeting and lacquered wood marquetry. With a lounge area of their own, passengers in the Grand Suites will be able to unwind with added privacy while marvelling at the purple-heathered fells whipping past outside.
How to do it: A two-night Highland Journey in a Grand Suite starts from £6,000 per person on an all-inclusive basis.
3. The VietageVietnam
A single luxury carriage that couples onto the Reunification Express train, this offering from the Anantara hotel group allows up to 12 passengers to travel the 200 miles between Da Nang and Quy Nhon in supreme comfort. Onboard, there are six private compartments featuring rattan screens and plush upholstered seating that convert to beds. Travellers can take in the beauty of the Vietnamese countryside over a three-course lunch washed down with free-flowing drinks, from artisanal gins to iced coconut coffees. The ticket price also includes a head-and-shoulder massage.
How to do it: A one-way ticket from Da Nang to Quy Nhon is $420 (£330).
4. SPACE XJapan
Running between Tokyo’s Asakusa station and the city of Nikko, in Tochigi Prefecture, this train provides a stylish way of making the two-hour journey north. Taking inspiration from the Edo period, the window frames incorporate intricate geometrical patterns used in bamboo wickerwork. Alongside traditional train seating, Spacia X also includes compartments, sofas and lounge-style seats. From the premium Cockpit Suite, passengers will get a driver’s view of the journey as they shoot past mountains, waterfalls and temples.
How to do it: Tickets can be bought online or from any station on the Tobu line. A one-way ticket starts from 1,400 Yen (£7.50).
5. Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressFrance
In December 2023, Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express will launch four new routes between Paris and the French Alps, trundling through snow-covered forests and foothills towards the stations of Albertville, Moûtiers and Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Passengers are given the option of snuggling down between damask sheets in Historic Cabins, Suites or Grand Suites before disembarking the following afternoon. Expect seasonal dishes in three different dining cars, clinking crystal glasses in the bar car and freshly baked viennoiserie served in bed.
How to do it: A stay in a Historic Cabin starts at £3,785 per person, including dinner, breakfast and brunch. belmond.com
6. The sweet lifeItaly
Launching in 2024, Orient Express’ La Dolce Vita train service will transport passengers to Italy of the 1960s, an area of cultural revival. There are 12 Deluxe Cabins and 18 Suites, the latter featuring lacquered ceilings, smoked mirrors and private bathrooms — plus a bar car where passengers can watch fields flit by as a pianist plays. A variety of off-board experiences are available, from touring vineyards at Montalcino and gliding around Venice’s canals to riding horses in Abruzzo and sipping wine in the foothills of Mount Etna
How to do it: Prices start at €2,500 (£2,140) per person per night in a Deluxe Cabin and at €3,700 (£3,170) per night in a Suite.
Published in the Luxury Collection 2023, distributed with the November 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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