Orient Express in Italy · Toured in person
I’ve stayed at Orient Express La Minerva in Rome, toured Orient Express Venice and stepped aboard La Dolce Vita. I know the team, and they’ll take great care of you. If you’re thinking about it, the answer is do it.
Orient Express has a train, hotels in Rome and Venice and a sailing yacht, and it is doing all of them right. Keep the trip in the family.
Start in Rome at La Minerva, on the Pantheon’s own piazza. Board La Dolce Vita for a night on the way north. Step off in Venice at Orient Express Venice, a fifteenth-century palazzo in Cannaregio, a few minutes from the station. Add the Corinthian if you want to keep going by sea.
Same family, same standard of service at every stop. I share your preferences with each team before you arrive, so nobody asks you the same question twice.
If you’re thinking about it, do it.
Such a unique experience. The dining car stopped me: white linen, brass sconces, leather armchairs and warm 1960s colors, by Dimorestudio. There are lots of fantastic excursions off the train, but the train is still the point, so plan to spend real time on board.
The train is the point. The excursions off the train are fantastic, but the time on board is what you’re there for.
Every cabin has its own bathroom. Deluxe Cabins and Suites alike.
The suites are tiny. They remind you that you’re on a train. That shouldn’t put you off booking. It just sets your expectations correctly.
Bring a carry-on. For one to three nights you don’t need much, and there isn’t room for big suitcases.
Expect to be social. Journeys usually carry around 40 to 60 guests. Come ready to meet people and have fun.
The cabins
Turned down for the night
The details
Dinner and drinks
The bar car
Inside and out
La Dolce Vita has its own private terminal at Rome Ostiense, and it sets the tone for everything after.
You check in at the front desk, where your “boarding pass” and everything for the journey is waiting in a numbered pigeonhole behind the counter. Then it’s free-flowing Champagne and snacks in a lounge designed like the train itself: lacquered gold ceilings, travertine, velvet armchairs and a mosaic floor.
The lounge
The details
The buzz in the lounge before the train was so much fun. Everyone was excited, almost like Christmas morning, and I’ve never seen that in this industry. Arrive early and enjoy it. It’s part of the trip.
Current journeys and starting fares, per person, from Orient Express. These three end in Venice.
For pairing La Minerva with Orient Express Venice, take one of the three journeys that end in Venice: Rome to Venice in December, the Carnival Party in February, or via Portofino from May. For a longer ride, the Wine or Truffle Route is two nights, and the Grand Tour does four.
Every journey starts in Rome, so I build the trip around La Minerva. Fares move with the dates, and the best cabins on popular departures go first.
How I’d put the three together. Every piece is Orient Express.
This is the trip I’d book for a big birthday, an anniversary or a honeymoon. Hold the train first, then I build the hotels around it.
Real Rome, right by the Pantheon.
I loved staying here. It’s right next to the Pantheon, the service is warm and welcoming without being stuffy, and the decor is a nod to the train: lots of wood and brass, and even small things like the notepad reference it. It isn’t as ornate or maximalist as its sister in Venice, but the contrast works, and it’s a fantastic option if you want something more unique in Rome than the stalwarts.
The coolest lobby in Rome. The downstairs bar and breakfast restaurant mixes palms with marble and dark wood. It’s open, airy and playful, and it reminded me a little of the lobby at Villa San Michele in Florence. There’s a live harpist at breakfast.
Dinner or a cocktail on the roof. The rooftop restaurant is just as beautiful, and a fantastic spot for a drink with a view.
Rooms that face real Rome. Warm and moody inside, looking out over real Roman rooftops. Not every building around you is a showstopper, and I think that’s part of the charm.
The fastest WhatsApp in Italy. Their WhatsApp replies were the quickest I had anywhere in Italy, and two items are pressed for you free each day.
The natural first stop. La Dolce Vita leaves from Rome, so two or three nights here, then a short drive to the lounge at Ostiense.
The palazzo
Up top and downstairs
The suites
Bedroom and bath
“It is almost overwhelming how beautiful this property is.”
I said that out loud on the tour, and I meant it. Palazzo Donà Giovannelli is a fifteenth-century palace on a quiet canal corner in Cannaregio, and the eight-year restoration is jaw dropping: dark wood, some seventy kinds of marble, restored ceilings and Murano chandeliers. Everywhere I looked, something new caught my eye.
The perfect place to step off the train. It’s close to the station, away from the San Marco crowds and an easy walk into the city.
Ask for the piano nobile. The noble floor has the highest ceilings.
There is no pool. This is a palazzo hotel. If a pool matters, I’ll talk you through Airelles Palladio on Giudecca.
Three nights is the sweet spot. Long enough for the city, the islands and a few long lunches.
The palazzo
The rooms
The marble
The largest sailing yacht in the world, with 54 suites.
I haven’t sailed her yet. Tell me your dates and I’ll tell you which sailings line up with the train and the hotels.
On deck
Inside
La Dolce Vita can be privatized for up to 62 guests, with the route and menus built around your group. Smaller groups can take selected carriages.
I’ve stayed, toured and met the people running these properties, and they’ll take great care of you. Rates are the same as booking direct. At La Minerva and Orient Express Venice my clients typically get:
Perks depend on the rate and are confirmed when we book.
The train, both hotels, the water taxi in Venice and the car in Rome, and the yacht if you want it. One person, one plan, and your preferences shared ahead with every team.
Fares are per person and vary by journey, cabin and date. Orient Express currently lists Rome to Venice and Rome, Portofino and Venice from €3,500 for one night, the Carnival Party from €4,440, the Italian Wine Route from €5,780, the Truffle Route from €6,560, Rome to Sicily and Venice & Tuscany in Winter from €9,440, and the five-day Grand Tour from €14,000. I quote exact fares for your dates, along with any current offers. Every journey is on my La Dolce Vita page.
Yes. Three journeys run one way from Rome to Venice, each with one night on board: Rome to Venice via Bolgheri from December 2026, the Carnival Party in February 2027, and Rome, Portofino and Venice from May 2027. You step off in Venice, and Orient Express Venice is close to the station.
Yes. If you're thinking about doing it, the answer is do it. It is a unique experience, and the buzz in the lounge before boarding is unlike anything else I have seen in travel.
At both Orient Express La Minerva and Orient Express Venice, my clients typically get daily breakfast for two, a $100 USD hotel credit, an upgrade on arrival and early check-in or late check-out when available, plus a VIP welcome. Signature Suite bookings at La Minerva can also include a 50-minute massage for two. Perks depend on the rate and are confirmed when we book.
Journeys start in Rome, from the La Dolce Vita lounge at Ostiense station. That is why I put Rome and La Minerva at the start of the trip.
Yes. Orient Express Corinthian sails the Mediterranean in summer, including the Italian Riviera and the Adriatic, and the Caribbean in winter. Tell me your dates and I will tell you which sailings line up with the train.
Tell me your dates and who’s coming. I’ll check the train, La Minerva and Venice together and come back with cabins, rooms and any current offers.
My Venice guide → Where I’d stay in Italy →
Aman Venice or Orient Express? → Orient Express or the Danieli? →