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 Orient
Express is not only acknowledged as the expensive vehicle to travel. It is the
legendary wheeled-hotel symbolizing the European luxury tourism! Luxemag offers you an invitation for the virtual voyage on the legendary rolling
stock. Ladies and gentlemen take your seats, please, and we depart!
Antique
wagons
In
1883 the private company «Venice Simplon Orient Express» started off the first
trip of the Orient Express. And the train was afforded only by the wealthy
customers only. Only 40 compartments were provided styled as halls of the luxury
palace with all those accessories, like doors made of polished wood, velvet
sofas, crystal bras, silk wallpapers, and carpets and laced curtains. The most noticeable
thing of the interior was the basin with cold and hot water that greatly
impressed the first travelers of the Express on the route from the fashionable
Paris to exotic Istanbul.
Among
the passengers of the XX century were found rather exotic figures like Arab sheikhs,
Balkan dukes, Russian earls, American businessmen and spoilt European fine
ladies with the whole court of servants.
One
of the most devoted fellows of the legendary train is Jules Verne who sometime back
mentioned about the phenomenon train in his novel «Around the World in 80 Days»,
and Agatha Christie who artistically recreated the mystic traveling atmosphere
in her thrilling crime story «Murder on the «Orient Express».
The
exquisite compartments of the train were greatly loved by the actress Marlene
Dietrich, the dancer Mata Hari, the actor Jean Marais, the politic leaders Mustafa
Ataturk, Charles de Gaulle and Nikita Khrushev, yet the regular customers made
by the Queen Elizabeth II.
In
the current time the Orient Express is the exclusive wagons a la 1920 and that were
recreated following the ancient drawing for 11 million GBR pound sterling. The
design of the schemes shows the dominance of vintage style art-deco with
typical elements of handicraft and decorative ivory elements, brassy and ornamental
minerals.
Furthermore,
thanks to the creative engineering design by «Venice Simplon Orient Express»
Company the train became more luxury with every season. Currently the Express is
made of 11 sleeping-cars with 87 coupes, 14 separate compartments, and 3 dining-cars
served by the French chief cooks («Lalique» carriage for 36 rooms, «Chinoise» or
36 rooms and «Etoile du Nord» for 34 rooms) with the fashionable wagon
boutique!
During
the voyage the travelers are entertained by illusionists, musicians and
photographers. A single customer is given the bunch of flowers, the nominal welcome
letter and a glass of champagne on the silver tray, the same as one hundred
years ago!
Movies
«Orient
Express» was often served as the movie set for Hollywood films, from the series
of Bondiana From Russia with Love from 1963 and to several adaptations of the «Murder
on the Orient Express, yet the most popular release of the movie was the
version of 1974 featuring Ingrid Bergman and Sean Connery winning the Oscar.
This
year Chanel Fashion House also referred to the luxury rail way voyage and launched
the new commercial clip Chanel 5 when the fatal beauty Audrey Tautou
accidentally face a seductive stranger in the Orient Express and they meet in
Istanbul hardly losing each other. During several minutes while the clip runs the
public is shown the interior of the most ancient luxury train of the world.
Highly demanded routes
As
reported by the Fashion Travel, the tour on the Orient Express may be reserved from
any dates from March to November, while in the other seasons the train is not
used for weather conditions.
Once
the travelers decide for the Orient Express, they are offered several dozens of
routes by the «Venice Simplon Orient Express» throughout the continental
Europe. The most popular directions are London-Paris-Venice
costing $3 120 USD, while Venice-Paris ticket costs $2 600 USD and the ticket
London-Paris costs $ 960 USD.
If
you intend to travel to Istanbul, opt for the longest route Paris- Budapest-Bucharest-Istanbul
with the ticket costing $9 190 USD and you are offered the adventure with
evidence of crime and brainteasers by Agatha Christie which is the corporate
gift for all travelers.
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