MILAN — Fall asleep in Paris and wake up on Italy’s azure coast.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, Europe, will connect the French capital with Italy’s Amalfi Coast for the first time.

On May 4, the legendary midnight blue carriages will travel south from Paris toward Pompeii and onward to the clifftop sanctuary of Caruso, a hotel also owned by Belmond, which overlooks the Amalfi Coast.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express general manager Pascal Deyrolle told WWD that the itinerary connects guests with the full potential of the Belmond world. 

“This journey offers guests a unique way to experience one of Italy’s most celebrated coastlines — with its cliffs, villages and sea views revealed in a way that only the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express can provide,” he said.

The voyage begins in Paris, featuring cocktails and live piano music in the train’s famed Bar Car 3674.

On May 5, guests will be served breakfast and lunch before arriving in Pompeii. Grand Suite guests will enjoy exclusive access to the rarely opened Casa del Larario Regio V, an archaeological treasure that Caruso supports through its preservation efforts. Alternatively, culinary enthusiasts will be invited to an intimate cooking class at Caruso led by executive chef Armando Aristarco.

The evening will conclude at Belmond’s Caruso property, known for its history and its newly restyled La Piscina infinity pool, perched 1,000 feet above the sea.

Also available will be private boat tours to Positano and the coastline’s hidden coves.

Prices for Villeggiatura by Train start from 8,600 pounds a person, based on two guests sharing. This includes a shared historic cabin on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and two nights in a superior garden view room at Caruso.

The 2026 season also introduces new, curated Italian itineraries culminating in Venice and Florence, each offering a three-night journey.

Acquired by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2019, Belmond operates the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train and hotels including the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Hotel Cipriani in Venice and Villa San Michele in Florence.

As a pioneer of slow travel, Belmond has been operating the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express since 1982. The group later expanded to include beach resorts, such as Maroma on the Riviera Maya, and gateways to UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as Hotel das Cataratas in Brazil’s Iguassu National Park.

The launch is part of a series of openings this year driven by an appetite for the Golden Age of travel and the hardest luxury of all to obtain: time. Separately, the Accor group operates its own Orient Express train service, in which LVMH is also an investor, with a hub in Rome. Accor’s rail service continues the legacy of the fabled Belgian rail company, the Orient Express train which embarked on its first journey, from Paris to Vienna, in 1883 and eventually extended services across continental Europe through to Istanbul.

Last year Accor’s Orient Express opened its own first train tour and hotel in Rome overlooking the Pantheon. The Orient Express’ upcoming Venice location, which will open inside the fabled Palazzo Donà Giovannelli is scheduled to open April 1.