An Autumn Escape to Venice
Venice in late October has a quieter, softer quality — the summer crowds thinned, the light turning gold over the water and the city returned to something closer to itself. This holiday gives you three unhurried nights to enjoy it, and then sends you home in the grandest way imaginable: aboard the most celebrated train in the world.
It is a beautifully simple idea — arrive by air, leave by legend. You fly from London Gatwick to Venice and spend three nights at the four-star Hotel Ca' Dei Conti, a short walk from St Mark's Square, with the city at your own pace in between. Then, on your final morning, you board the blue-and-gold carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for a single unforgettable night on the rails.
From Venice the train climbs north through the Veneto and the Italian Dolomites, over the Alps by way of Innsbruck, and on across France through the night. You dine, you sleep to the rhythm of the rails, and you wake to breakfast in your cabin as Paris approaches. From there a private car and the Eurostar carry you swiftly and comfortably home to London — a fittingly modern end to a thoroughly romantic trip.
What's Included
- The overnight journey from Venice to Paris aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, in a Historic Cabin with full board — lunch, afternoon tea, a four-course dinner and breakfast, all served on the train
- Three nights at the four-star Hotel Ca' Dei Conti in Venice, on a bed-and-breakfast basis
- Return flights from London Gatwick to Venice
- All transfers, including the water-taxi across the Venetian lagoon and the private car across Paris
- Eurostar Premier Class from Paris to London St Pancras
Day by Day
Gatwick to Venice
Fly from London Gatwick to Venice Marco Polo. Waiting on arrival is your private water-taxi, which carries you across the lagoon and delivers you, by water, to the heart of the city — still the most theatrical arrival in travel. Settle into the Ca' Dei Conti, then let the afternoon unfold on foot. Venice has no better introduction than simply wandering until the map stops making sense.
Overnight at Ca' Dei Conti, Venice.
Venice at Leisure
Two full days to take Venice at your own pace. The great sights are close at hand — St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, the Rialto, the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection — but autumn is the season for the quieter pleasures too: a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, a gondola through the back canals, an hour lost in the lanes of Dorsoduro or Cannaregio, or the boat out across the lagoon to Murano. With the summer crowds gone, the city is yours to enjoy.
Bed and breakfast at Ca' Dei Conti.
Aboard the Orient Express
After breakfast, a last water-taxi ride takes you to Santa Lucia station, where the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is waiting. The train pulls away around 11:00, and lunch is served in the restaurant cars as the Veneto gives way to the Dolomites. Afternoon tea arrives in your cabin as the train climbs towards Innsbruck and the Austrian Alps. Later, you dress for a four-course dinner in the panelled 1920s dining cars, and the evening carries on in the Bar Car, the pianist playing as the train slips westward through the dark.
Lunch, afternoon tea and dinner on the VSOE included. Overnight on board.
Paris and Home
You wake to the French countryside and a continental breakfast served in your cabin as the train makes its final approach to Paris, arriving at Gare d'Austerlitz around midday. A private car then takes you across the city to Gare du Nord, where the Eurostar is waiting to carry you home to London St Pancras in Premier Class comfort — a little over two hours, with a meal served on board.
Breakfast on the VSOE, private car transfer in Paris, and a meal on board Eurostar included.
The Hotel — Ca' Dei Conti
Your base in Venice is the four-star Ca' Dei Conti, an 18th-century palazzo in the Castello sestiere reached across its own small bridge over a quiet canal. It sits just three minutes' walk from Piazza San Marco and five from the Rialto, yet in a calm corner away from the busiest routes. The building wears its history well — the original family's coat of arms is still set into the marble of the lobby floor, and the rooms carry antique furnishings and Murano glass chandeliers.
All 43 rooms have air conditioning, private bathrooms, a minibar and free Wi-Fi, and breakfast is served each morning before you set out. The Castello location is a particular pleasure in autumn, close to the Arsenale and the quieter eastern quarters of the city while still an easy walk to every major sight.
Departure & Price
This is a single, specially arranged departure — four nights in total, three of them in Venice, flying from London Gatwick. Availability is limited, so early booking is recommended.
| Departure | Hotel | From (pp) |
|---|---|---|
| 31 October 2026 · from London Gatwick | 4★ Ca' Dei Conti, 3 nights | £4,899 |
Price is per person, based on two adults sharing a Historic Cabin on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and a twin or double room at the hotel. Bed and breakfast in Venice; full board on the train. Prices are not live and are subject to availability at the time of booking.