Belmond has tied its Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to four of its Italian hotels. One of the new routes runs from Paris all the way to Pompeii, a city most people reach on a crowded regional line and bad coffee.
The series is called Villeggiatura by Train. The word describes an old Italian habit, the long slow summer spent away from the city, somewhere with a view. Belmond has built four journeys around it, launching through 2026.
Each one runs four days. The first night is aboard the train, in a cabin, with dinner in the dining car and the countryside going past the glass. In the morning the train hands you to a hotel for a two-night stay. The carriages are the originals, restored to their 1920s Art Deco, brass and marquetry kept in period.
The hotels
Four properties anchor the series. Villa San Michele above Florence, a former monastery that reopened this spring after eighteen months of work. Splendido at Portofino, on the hill over the harbour. Caruso on the Amalfi Coast, in Ravello. Hotel Cipriani on the Giudecca in Venice.
Every stay comes with something to do that belongs to the place. A cooking masterclass. A boat along the coast. An afternoon with an archaeologist. Live music after dinner. Belmond keys these to the hotel rather than bolting them on, which is the difference between an itinerary and a holiday.
Courtesy of Belmond — Villa San Michele, Florence, one of the four stops
Paris to Pompeii
The route that stands out is new for 2026. It runs from Paris to Pompeii, the first time the train has gone that far south on this itinerary. Pompeii is usually a day trip, reached by regional train out of Naples in the heat. Arriving off the Orient-Express changes the arithmetic of the visit.
The southern leg puts you at Caruso, high above the water in Ravello, with the ruins an hour down the coast. A Roman city in the morning, a cliff terrace by the afternoon. That pairing is the whole argument for the trip.
A Roman city in the morning, a cliff terrace by the afternoon. The train makes the two feel like one idea.
The Splendid EditThe cabins
The sleeping cabins are small by design. The space on this train is in the dining cars, the corridors and the window; the night is one to stay up in, not to sleep through. A steward keeps the cabin and knows the route.
Belmond sells the four-day journeys from 7,400 pounds per person in a Historic Cabin. The price folds in the night aboard, the hotel stays and the experiences. It is a great deal of money. It is also four days you will not confuse with any other trip.
The details
The Splendid Edit on Belmond's Villeggiatura by Train, launching 2026. Details from Belmond.
Photography courtesy of Belmond — Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and Villa San Michele