The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is getting a new stamp on its ticket. From May 2027, Belmond's famous midnight-blue train will call at Monte Carlo for the first time, running an overnight trip from Paris along the French Riviera before continuing to Venice. The route is slated to become a permanent, annual part of the schedule rather than a one-off.
The journey begins in the French capital, where passengers board restored Art Deco carriages for a night on the rails. Accommodation ranges from historic cabins to grand suites, with the showstopper being L'Observatoire, a suite designed by French artist JR that packs in a bedroom, a freestanding bathtub in the en suite bathroom, a living area, a library and a hidden tearoom.
Dinner is served in one of two restaurant cars, Étoile du Nord or L'Oriental, and the evening continues in Bar Car '3674' with cocktails and live piano. Come morning, it's pastries and fresh juices as the scenery takes over: the train hugs the coast past the red cliffs of the Massif de l'Estérel, rolls through Saint-Raphaël, Cannes and Nice, then tunnels into the mountainside to descend into Monte Carlo station, which sits deep beneath the rock.
Once there, guests can step off and explore Monaco properly, from the Casino de Monte-Carlo to the streets that host the Formula One Grand Prix each year. Belmond's leadership frames the addition as a natural fit, pointing to the principality's long association with style and the theatre of arrival itself.
The catch, inevitably, is the price. Fares start at €4,870 per person, based on two sharing a historic cabin. That covers 24-hour steward service, all meals including the sommelier's chosen wines, unlimited soft drinks and transfers, so it's more of a holiday-in-itself than a means of getting from A to B.
For travellers, this is a genuinely new way to string together three of Europe's most storied destinations: Paris, the Riviera and Venice, all without an airport in sight. If the full fare is a stretch, the route is still worth watching, as Belmond's additions tend to shape the wider luxury rail market and often inspire more accessible takes on the same corridors. But if you were ever going to splurge on sleeper-train romance, arriving in Monaco by vintage carriage is a hard argument to beat. Start saving now if May 2027 is the goal, since the most desirable cabins on new routes tend to sell out early.
