The Orient Express was the name of a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits In 1883 from Paris to Constantinople (Istanbul). The original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. On 14 December 2009, the Orient Express ceased to operate and the route disappeared from European railway timetables, reportedly a "victim of high-speed trains and cut-rate airlines.

In earlier years, going by train between Europe and the Ottoman Empire was slow and tedious. Each country through which the traveler's route passed had a different railroad administration, and passengers were obliged to descend from one train, walk across the border and climb into the next. Romance, excitement and pure pleasure are all bound up in journeys that link the great European cities. The adventures of celebrated historic personalities are still palpable today, held in the original 1920s carriages with their Lalique glass panels, wood burning stoves and Art Deco marquetry.






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