Luxury route
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Paris → Venice · France · Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Austria · Italy
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express in pictures
Photographs by their authors, hosted on Wikimedia Commons · tap through for the licence
- Distance
- 1,270 km
- Fastest time
- ≈ 21 h
- Average speed
- 60 km/h
- Top speed
- 160 km/h
- Train
- 1920s CIWL carriages
- In service since
- 1982
- Highest point
- 1,370 m
- Countries
- France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy
- Runs
- scheduled departures Mar–Dec, roughly weekly
Figures are published values, not live data · corrections log
Belmond’s restored Art Deco sleepers of the 1920s–30s: black tie encouraged as the Alps slide past the champagne bar.
Dinner is served somewhere in Champagne; by breakfast the marquetry-lined restaurant cars are winding between the Zürichsee and Walensee toward the Arlberg. The Brenner crossing is the day’s set piece before the long glide down past Bolzano’s orchards and Verona to the lagoon causeway, where Santa Lucia’s platforms give way to water. It remains the most theatrical way to arrive in Venice: a moving museum in which every guest is part of the exhibit.
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from 2 OpenStreetMap relations, their own nodes end to end: relation 6253934 (488 km), relation 1623486 (134 km) — 622 km of the route between them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: 96.3% of this line lies within 250 m of real track (median 18 m); the longest stretch away from it is 11.5 km
- The operator publishes this line's timetable: Belmond — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Along the way
- Paris Gare de l’Est send-off
- Zürichsee and Walensee at breakfast
- Arlberg Pass ramparts
- Brenner Pass at 1,370 m
- South Tyrol orchards near Bolzano
- lagoon causeway into Venezia Santa Lucia
How long is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express?
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express runs 1,270 km from Paris to Venice. It runs through France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy.
How long does the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express take?
The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 21 h for the 1,270 km. That is an average of 60 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 160 km/h.
Who runs the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express?
Belmond, with 1920s CIWL carriages.
How old is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express?
The line has been in service since 1982. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
How high does the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express climb?
1,370 m above sea level at its highest point.
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More train routes in France · Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Austria · Italy.
Planning this trip? Journey time & direct trains: Paris → Venice · Venice → Paris.