For the utmost in luxury train travel, the Venice Simplon Orient Express offers one-way passage from Paris to Venice in train carriages that reproduce original Orient Express cars of the 1920s and 30s. Travelers enjoy gourmet brunch, lunch and a four-course dinner and take afternoon tea in their private cabins. Gourmet French cuisine features dishes such as steamed fresh salmon with spinach roulade and salmon tartar. The bar car offers live music from a Baby Grand piano. Stewards are available throughout the journey for personal assistance and tea, breakfast and beverage service. Trains depart from Paris just before dinner to arrive in Venice late the following afternoon. Prices start at $5,200 for two adult travelers.
The Artesia train offers regular first-class service from Paris to Venice. The overnight train departs from Paris Gard de Bercy at 8:30 p.m. and passes through Dijon, Dole, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza and Padua before pulling into Venice's Santa Lucia station at 9:34 a.m. the following morning. A dining car offers two changing prix fixe dinner menus made from fresh ingredients and prepared based on the "Slow Food" movement. A la carte selections are also available, including plates of Italian salamis and cheeses. First-class passengers receive reserved seating in the dining car. In the morning, choose from continental or Mediterranean breakfast. A separate cafe car offers a la carte sandwiches and light refreshments throughout the journey. As of August 2010, a private two-person cabin cost 175 euros per person, and a single private cabin cost 265 euros, each way.
Those looking to travel by high-speed rail may make part of their journey by French high-speed TGV. First-class passengers receive a three-course meal that is served at their seats, spacious individual seating and access to station lounges. Lounges include welcome desks, comfortable chairs and work desks, fax machines and photocopiers, coffee service and free newspapers and magazines. The seat layout offers privacy to solo travelers and includes the option of two adjoining seats or a "club space" that accommodates groups of up to four travelers. The high-speed Artesia TGV travels from Paris to Milan, at which point travelers board another European train for the remainder of the journey. Though exact schedules vary, high-speed travel reduces travel time by at least two and a half hours.
