A Venice and Paris Holiday by Orient Express
Some journeys are as much a part of the holiday as the places at either end. This is one of them. You begin in Venice, that improbable city built on water, with two unhurried nights to lose yourself among its canals and squares. Then comes the centrepiece: an overnight journey aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the most celebrated train in the world, climbing out of the Italian lakes and over the Alps while you dine, sip a nightcap in the bar car and fall asleep to the rhythm of the rails. You wake to breakfast in your cabin as the train rolls into Paris, where two more nights wait in the French capital before your journey home.
It is a beautifully balanced trip — two contrasting cities bridged by the golden age of rail travel — and every part of it, from the water taxi that carries you to the train in Venice to the transfers in Paris, is arranged for you by our UK-based specialists.
Duration
6 days, 5 nights
Aboard the train
One night, Venice to Paris
The crossing
Overnight over the Alps
Dining
All meals on board
Venice
Two nights
Paris
Two nights
Your Day-by-Day Itinerary
Arrive in Venice
Fly from London to Venice and transfer to your chosen hotel for a two-night stay — the last stretch, fittingly, by water. Often called the Queen of the Adriatic, Venice rewards the wanderer: the Doge's Palace, St Mark's Basilica and its great square, the Rialto and galleries hung with masterpieces are all a short stroll or a short vaporetto ride away. There is time to take a gondola through the quieter back canals, and optional sightseeing tours can be arranged on selected days.
Breakfast included · Two nights in Venice
Aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
A private transfer — again by boat — carries you from your hotel to Venice Santa Lucia station, where the midnight-blue carriages of the Orient Express are waiting. You are welcomed by your steward, shown to your cabin, and served a leisurely lunch as the train slips away from the lagoon. Through the afternoon the scenery turns Alpine: the Dolomites, then the mountains and lakes of northern Italy and Switzerland, best enjoyed over afternoon tea. As evening falls, a four-course dinner is served in the panelled dining cars, prepared fresh by the on-board chefs, before a nightcap in the bar car to the sound of the resident pianist. You sleep as the train crosses the Alps by moonlight.
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea & dinner included · One night on board
Arrive in Paris
Breakfast is brought to your cabin as the train draws into Paris Gare de l'Est in the morning. Transfer to your hotel for two nights in the French capital. The city unfolds at your own pace: Montmartre and the white domes of Sacré-Cœur, the Left Bank, the Louvre, and Notre-Dame — magnificently restored and reopened in December 2024 — on the Île de la Cité. A day trip to the Palace of Versailles just outside the city can be arranged if you wish.
Breakfast included · Two nights in Paris
Paris to London
A final morning in Paris at your leisure before your return home — either by flight to London, or by Eurostar from Gare du Nord directly to St Pancras International. However you travel, you carry home the memory of one of the great journeys in Europe.
Breakfast included
Two Cities, One Journey
Venice — the Queen of the Adriatic
There is nowhere else quite like it. A city with no roads, only water; a place where the everyday business of coming and going is done by boat. Two nights give you time to see the essentials — St Mark's Square at first light before the crowds, the Doge's Palace, the view from the Rialto — and still leave room to simply get pleasantly lost, which is how Venice is best enjoyed. A gondola ride through the smaller canals is the quiet highlight for many.
Paris — the City of Light
Paris needs little introduction, and two nights is a fine taste of it. Climb to Sacré-Cœur for the view across the rooftops, wander the galleries of the Louvre, browse the bouquinistes along the Seine, and see the newly restored Notre-Dame, whose gleaming interior reopened to visitors in December 2024 after five years of painstaking work. For those with an extra day, the gilded halls and gardens of Versailles are a short journey from the centre.
What's Included
- A one-way journey from Venice to Paris in a private double cabin aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, with all meals on board
- Two nights' accommodation in Venice and two nights in Paris, in a double room at your chosen hotel and category
- Economy-class flights as shown in the itinerary (upgrades available on request)
- All transfers throughout, including the water transfers to and from the train in Venice
- The full financial protection of the Travel Trust Association
Prices are per person based on two sharing. Prices for single occupancy and solo travellers are available on request, as are hotel upgrades and additional nights in either city. Travel insurance, including Covid-19 cover, is available from £14 per person.
Departure Dates
The Venice to Paris service runs on selected dates from spring to winter. In line with Belmond's pricing, 2026 departures are quoted in pounds sterling and 2027 departures in euros. Extra nights in Venice or Paris can be added to almost any departure.
2026
2027
Hotels & Prices
Prices are on application — call us on 0333 405 0192 and we will build the holiday around the hotels and dates you prefer. In Venice, favourites range from the elegant, canal-side Londra Palace to the legendary Belmond Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca; in Paris, the discreet, family-run San Regis near the Champs-Élysées is a long-standing favourite. Upgrades are available at most hotels, and we are happy to suggest alternatives to suit any taste or budget. See our full lists of Venice hotels and Paris hotels.
Tailor-Made to You
Every element of this holiday can be tailored — longer in Venice, an extra night or two in Paris, a different cabin grade aboard the train, or the journey run in reverse as our Paris to Venice holiday. Talk to our specialists and we will shape it around you.
Please note: the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express route is occasionally subject to change at short notice due to railway engineering works or similar. Flights and most hotels are on request and are confirmed on receipt of a deposit, subject to availability.