The Orient Express train returning to Croatia

Illustration (Photo: Michal Matlon/Unsplash)

The Orient Express is one of the most iconic trains in the world and it is making a return next year in a new iteration with the launch of the Orient Express ‘La Dolce Vita’. 

The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 that operated until 2009. The train travelled the length of continental Europe and into western Asia, with terminal stations in London in the northwest and Athens or Istanbul in the southeast.

One of the stops in the past included today’s Croatian capital Zagreb. In fact, in 1925, Zagreb’s Hotel Esplanade was built in order to accommodate the passengers from the Orient Express.

The final time the original Orient Express passed through Zagreb was in 1939 when the service was interrupted because of the start of the Second World War. By 1962, the original Orient Express and Arlberg Orient Express had stopped running, leaving only the Simplon Orient Express. This was replaced in 1962 by a slower service called the Direct Orient Express.

This luxury Orient Express ‘La Dolce Vita’ is set to launch in next year with Split on the Croatian coast one of the stops.

Arsenale has partnered with Accor Group’s Orient Express brand to bring the legendary train back with six trains winding their way through 14 Italian regions and three international destinations, connecting Rome to Paris, Istanbul and Split in Croatia and crossing over eight countries along the way, Orient Express writes.

Split

In Rome, visitors will be put up at the first Orient Express hotel in Italy, the Hotel Orient Express Minerva, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

The interior design of the La Dolce Vita trains is done by Dimorestudio who mix the best of vintage and contemporary design to give the trains an elegant feel.