By Jay Martin

Whether it's fiction or real life, few travel experiences conjure up a sense of mystery and intrigue like the Orient-Express. The famous train is perhaps best known as the setting of Agatha Christie's 1934 story Murder on the Orient Express, and was the de facto carrier of spies, celebrities, and royalty from the East to the West in the early 20th century. Although the original Orient Express no longer exists, well-to-do travellers of today can relive the train's heyday of the 1920s and 1930s by chartering the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE), which operates a variety of European routes on the original, restored Compagnie International des Wagons-Lits traincars that saw so much European history nearly 100 years ago.

The Venice Simplon Orient-Express was founded by James Sherwood, who built the company after purchasing two of the original Orient-Express carriages at auction in 1977. The train made its first London to Venice trip in 1982, after Sherwood spent 16 million USD on additional carriages. The VSOE is not to be confused with the Orient-Express that runs regularly between Strasbourg, France and Vienna, Austria, and is the true descendant of the original line.

Guests on the VSOE can expect their own personal steward to greet them the moment they step onto the train. French chefs and Italian waiters serve the three Restaurant Cars and the Maitre D' visits guests in their own cabin to take lunch and dinner reservations. The sleeping compartments are nearly identical to their original form, complete with rich wood and brass. A truly authentic touch, VSOE compartments lack showers or bathing facilities, but have original washbasins with hot and cold water.

While the original Orient-Express took travellers from Paris to Istanbul, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express of today offers more options, including a route from London to Venice via Paris and Verona (USD 4680 per person, round-trip, double occupancy). Guests can still travel from Paris to Istanbul through Budapest and Bucharest on a one-way Premier Journey at a higher price of USD 9190 per person, double occupancy.

For most of us, USD 20,000 for a 6-day, one-way journey would be the trip of a lifetime. Wealthy travellers with more to spend can purchase a private charter of the VSOE from London to Florence for 120 guests at a price of £250,000. The package, called La Dolce Vita, is an overnight journey that ends at the Hotel Villa San Michele in Florence, and includes an overnight stay and lunch for all 120 guests. In addition, the host of the journey receives a jewellery box containing a gold and diamond train bracelet and a pair of gold and diamond cufflinks delivered in advance and in person by a liveried British Pullman steward.

For many travellers, taking a train is a way to cover a lot of ground fast and see a country from a different angle, all without the hassle of renting a car and navigating tricky, foreign roads. Modern train travel is nothing like it was a hundred years ago. Blue jeans and backpacks are more common than dinner jackets and evening gowns. But for the right price, one can travel back in time to an era when travel itself was a luxury, and when travellers expected a level of service and attention to detail that cannot be found without spending a year's salary.

WHO TO CALL: Orient-Express Hotels Trains and Cruises – For the phone number of the regional sales office closest to you, visit www.orient-express.com.

Photo Credits: The Orient Express in Sinaia by energeticspell; Orient Express by Feuillu; Wagons Lits carriage by Train Chartering & Private Rail Cars. All images via Flickr (Creative Commons).