In 1876, the Belgian businessman Georges Nagelmackers founded the Compagnie Internationale des Waggons-Lits. His vision was to create the first international luxury sleeper train. And its name? The Orient Express. It also gained fame through Agatha Christie’s crime novel “Murder on the Orient Express”, a classic that has been made into film several times.
In 1883, the sleeper train travelled for the first time from Paris to Constantinople, today’s Istanbul. The journey took just 82 hours. For Nagelmackers, the service was worthwhile to run, despite carrying only thirty to forty passengers per week. This shows just how expensive and exclusive the tickets must have been.
The train itself was seen as a grand hotel on rails and offered a completely new level of travel comfort. The compartments were decorated with wood panelling and Art Nouveau inlays, including work by René Lalique. It was furnished with soft leather, curtains were made of Geneva velvet, and the bed linen was made of silk. Its showers and toilets were lined with marble; there was also central heating, a library and iceboxes. Even the tableware was specially made for Nagelmackers and adapted to the movement of the train. The Orient Express set a new standard for comfort.
Dinner in the dining car lasted for up to three hours, where haute cuisine made from the freshest ingredients was served. In keeping with the journey, local specialities from the countries en route were on the menu: caviar from Romania, sturgeon from the Danube and Turkish pilaf.
During the First World War, the train service was suspended. As of 1919, it ran again – under the new name Simplon-Orient-Express and along a new route. It now travelled from Paris via Venice to Constantinople, rather than via Munich and Vienna. In 1977, the Orient Express ran from Paris to Instanbul for the last time.
