The restored Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express will combine surviving Art Deco details with Maxime d’Angeac’s contemporary suites, bar and dining interiors, while the exact launch date remains unannounced.
L’Orient Express is being reimagined for a 2027 return between Paris and Istanbul aboard 17 original carriages dating from the 1920s and 1930s. — Credit: Maxime D’Angeac and Martin Darzacq
- L’Orient Express is scheduled to return in 2027 using 17 original Orient Express carriages dating from the 1920s and 1930s.
- The train is being prepared to retrace the historic Paris–Istanbul route, travelling east through Vienna, Budapest and the Balkans to the Bosphorus.
- Architect and Orient Express artistic director Maxime d’Angeac is reimagining the historic interiors while retaining surviving elements including original marquetry and Lalique details.
- Orient Express currently says the exact launch date for the new Paris–Istanbul service has not yet been announced.
(NEWS) PARIS, France, 2026-Sep-16 — /Travel PR News/ — One of rail travel’s most recognisable names is preparing for a major return in 2027, with L’Orient Express set to carry travellers between Paris and Istanbul aboard 17 original carriages dating from the 1920s and 1930s.
The project goes beyond recreating the look of a historic luxury train. The carriages, formerly known collectively as the Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express, are being restored and reworked for contemporary overnight travel while preserving surviving elements of their Art Deco heritage. The result is intended to place the experience of the journey itself — sleeping, dining, drinking and watching Europe pass outside the windows — back at the centre of the Orient Express story.
A recent Virtuoso feature on the project described an early-2027 arrival. However, Orient Express’ current information is more cautious: the brand confirms a 2027 return but says the precise launch date for the Paris–Istanbul service has not yet been announced.
Seventeen historic cars brought back from obscurity
The revival has its roots in a railway-history search that began more than a decade ago. In 2015, researcher Arthur Mettetal undertook a worldwide inventory of Orient Express rolling stock for SNCF. According to an earlier Accor account of the project, the carriages were eventually located in surprisingly well-preserved condition, still retaining distinctive marquetry and Lalique elements.
Following negotiations, the 17-car train was returned to France. The consist comprises 12 sleeping cars, one restaurant car, three lounges and one service van, all originating from the 1920s and 1930s. The train had later operated under the Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express name and, during another chapter of its history, travelled as far as Tokyo before disappearing from regular use.
The restoration has been entrusted to Maxime d’Angeac, architect and artistic director of Orient Express. His brief is not simply to reproduce a museum interior but to reinterpret the visual language of the original train for modern luxury rail travel.
Art Deco heritage meets contemporary sleeper design
Inside the new train, historic references are being carried through into spaces designed for present-day comfort. Orient Express says the suites feature precious woods and leather walls that reinterpret the geometric rail motifs associated with Suzanne Lalique, while original “Blackbirds & Grapes” Lalique panels recovered from the historic cars are being incorporated into the accommodation.
By day, each suite is designed around a sofa and settee for reading or watching the landscape. At night, the room converts into a sleeping configuration with a 2-metre by 1.40-metre bed, alongside a private bathroom, dressing space and carefully integrated storage.
The bar car takes a more theatrical approach, using deep green tones, rosewood, marble and large windows beneath a vaulted ceiling. Original Lalique pieces recovered from the former Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express are also being returned to the setting.
Dining will unfold beneath a mirrored ceiling framed by arches and subdued lighting. The dining car includes a private lounge incorporating original marquetry panels, while a glass wall opens views toward the kitchen and the work of the culinary team. Virtuoso reports that menus are expected to draw inspiration from destinations along the route, reinforcing the link between the onboard experience and the countries crossed by the train.
Paris to Istanbul returns to the centre of the story
The journey is being prepared to retrace the historic axis between Paris and Istanbul. Orient Express says the new service will travel east through Vienna, Budapest and the Balkans before reaching the Bosphorus, reviving a route whose origins date to 1883.
The original Orient Express left Paris for Constantinople on October 4, 1883. Over subsequent decades, the service became synonymous with long-distance European rail travel, diplomacy, glamour and literary intrigue. The historic route ceased operating in its classic form in 1977.
The 2027 train should not be confused with La Dolce Vita Orient Express, the separate Italian-designed rail product already operating within the wider Orient Express portfolio. La Dolce Vita draws on 1960s Italian design and is scheduled to launch its first international Rome–Istanbul journey on October 22, 2026. L’Orient Express, by contrast, is the restoration-led project built around the original 17 historic carriages and the Paris–Istanbul legacy.
That distinction matters for travellers following the rapid expansion of the Orient Express name across trains, hotels and sailing yachts. The 2027 launch represents the most direct attempt yet to reconnect the modern brand with the original long-distance railway legend — not through a replica, but through the restoration and reinvention of surviving historic rolling stock.
For now, the route and launch year are confirmed, while fares, final operating dates and detailed booking arrangements for L’Orient Express have yet to be published. Orient Express is currently inviting prospective travellers to register interest as preparations for the Paris–Istanbul return continue.
