Orient Express
Photo: Orient-Express_1919-1939-2.png: *Blank_map_of_Europe_1929-1938.svg: *Blank_map_of_Europe.svg: maix¿? derivative work: Alphathon /'æɫfə.θɒn/ (talk) Orient-Expres, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Orient Express was a legendary train service between eastern and western Europe founded in 1883. While the route changed over the years, the traditional final destinations were Paris and Istanbul.
While the traditional main route through the Balkans closed down in 1962, and the last through sleeper car on any route from Paris to Istanbul departed in 1977, a few portions of the regular service in Western and Central Europe continued on a limited and diminishing scale until the Orient Express name disappeared from mainline European rail timetables forever in December 2009. The introduction of high speed rail in much of Western and Central Europe, as well as the rise and falling price of aviation, have led to the demise of many sleeper train services. The original incarnation of this route is among them.
UnderstandThe original Orient Express service was inaugurated by la Compagnie Internationale de Wagons-Lits (CIWL) in June 1883 from Paris to Vienna and was extended Paris to Istanbul in October 1883.
PrepareThe routes of the Orient Express span multiple countries and, if retraced using modern rail services, multiple trains.
Get inWhile this journey may be made from either endpoint (Paris or Istanbul), it is most commonly done from west to east, departing the Gare de l'Est in Paris, France.
GoToday, there is a touristic service, departing once a year, by Belmond: Paris–Budapest–Sinaia–Bucharest–Istanbul.
Go nextThe original journey ends in the Sirkeci Terminal, built for the Orient Express in 1890 as the main European station in Istanbul.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Orient Express" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Orient-Express_1919-1939-2.png: *Blank_map_of_Europe_1929-1938.svg: *Blank_map_of_Europe.svg: maix¿? derivative work: Alphathon /'æɫfə.θɒn/ (talk) Orient-Expres, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons