After 143 years of standstill, the luxury train resumes service and will inaugurate a new route this autumn; the itinerary of the Dolce Vita Orient Express connects Istanbul to Rome and vice versa, officially kicking off on October 22 with the inaugural journey. For five days and four nights, one experiences being aboard opulent carriages crossing Europe, savoring a slow tempo.
The itinerary from Rome to Istanbul
The departure is scheduled from Rome in the evening, and the first stop will be Venice. The romantic city with its canals and palaces enchants; the train then proceeds toward Budapest. The Hungarian capital enters the itinerary as a representative of Central Europe, which in the nineteenth century was the epicenter of an imperial and cosmopolitan world, later shattered by history. It is worth pausing there, and the train does.
The next leg is perhaps the most unexpected for those who do not know Romania well: Brașov and Sinaia, in the heart of the Carpathians. Medieval villages, castles, forests and a sense of geographic isolation that today, in the era of hyperconnectivity, sounds almost like a luxury. The landscape changes tone entirely compared with Italy or Hungary, and it is precisely this detail that makes hearts beat faster and convinces everyone.
Then Turkey, the entrance into a continent that is already another world, and thus Istanbul. A city suspended between Europe and Asia, layered over millennia of diverse civilizations, impossible to exhaust in a few days, but capable of leaving a mark already in the first hours. The journey ends here, on the Bosphorus, where water both divides and unites two worlds.
The itinerary from Istanbul to Rome
The Dolce Vita Orient Express will also undertake the reverse route from Istanbul to Rome, always with a four-night and five-day itinerary. After leaving the Bosphorus behind, it will cross Bulgaria, stopping first in Plovdiv and then in Sofia, thus arriving at Timișoara in Romania. The journey then proceeds to the elegant Vienna, then touches the canals of Venice before concluding the experience in the Eternal City. The itinerary is presented as an immersive experience in history, art and European gastronomic traditions, thanks to cultural visits, encounters with artisans, and carefully selected activities at the various stops.
How to book and how much it costs
Tickets for the Rome–Istanbul leg are purchased through the dedicated reservations center of La Dolce Vita Orient Express, accessible via the official website.
Prices start from around €3,500 per person per night for Deluxe cabins and rise to around €4,700 per person per night for Suites. This is a luxury experience, and bookings for the inaugural journey on October 22 are already open.
The onboard services
On board, the design echoes the Italian aesthetics of the 1960s with a touch of nostalgia; it was conceived by the Dimorestudio studio, which proposed warm interiors and an atmosphere that is elegant yet restrained. Among the most remarkable services is the offering from the tri- Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck, who presents an incredible menu. The aim is to offer luxury made in Italy on these journeys by fusing culture and meticulous attention to detail, moving away from the megalo ambitions of some international propositions in order to embrace a notion of excellence that is more discreet and conscious.
