Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Reveals a Luxurious New Sleeper Carriage

Coinciding with the 60th Venice Biennale, a prestigious event in the art scene, the renowned train has introduced a unique art-adorned carriage brimming with design surprises. The celebrated Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train has launched L’Observatoire, a new sleeper carriage envisioned by the renowned French artist and photographer JR. True to its glamorous nature, the announcement featured the sleeper car showcased on a barge anchored in the Venetian Lagoon, allowing art enthusiasts to glimpse inside through eye-shaped portholes before it officially enters service.

“With L’Observatoire, I invite people into my imaginative realm,” JR stated in a press release, elaborating, “I aimed to incorporate numerous hidden elements and layers to evoke a sense of wonder and connect with your inner child—whether through concealed compartments or secret messages that some may catch while others miss. This carriage holds so much that one trip won’t suffice to uncover it all.” In an Instagram update, JR mentioned drawing design inspiration from his studio, astronomical observatories, and Renaissance cabinets of curiosity.

The spacious private carriage includes a bedroom with a double bed, an en suite bathroom, a wardrobe, a reclining daybed, a lounge area, a library featuring works from French publisher Gallimard, and a secret tea room complete with a fireplace. It stands as the largest accommodation on the train, surpassing the Grand Suites, each themed after a different European city.

Trains have played a significant role in JR's artistic journey, highlighted in works like Women Are Heroes (2007), where he affixed large photographs of eyes to the roofs and sides of trains in Nairobi, Kenya, and Mind the Gap (2017), an expansive installation featuring 700 train figurines on a continuous loop that creates an optical illusion of moving faces.

“My relationship with trains is deeply rooted—they’ve always served as my canvas,” JR remarked. “As a child, I would sit by the window, mesmerized by the world rushing by. There’s something enchanting about watching the changing scenery from a bubble, as if journeying through different realms.”

This isn’t the first collaboration between the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and artists for its interiors. In the 1920s and ’30s, famed art deco designers René Prou and René Lalique were enlisted to embellish the original carriages. Many of their creations, such as tulip-shaped lamps and the glass paneling in the Côte d’Azur restaurant car, are still in use today.

L’Observatoire won’t join the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express fleet until sometime in 2025, and the price for this lavish carriage has yet to be announced. In the post-pandemic landscape, Belmond has been eager to refresh its luxury trains and introduce new routes. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express has already launched a new journey from Paris to the French Alps and plans to unveil a Paris to Portofino, Italy, itinerary in June.

As of February, travelers can now reserve spots on the The Eastern & Oriental Express, a sister train to the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which has resumed its journeys through Singapore and the Malaysian countryside after a four-year break.

Beginning in May, guests will have the opportunity to stay in two new Grand Suites aboard the Royal Scotsman, another train within the Belmond portfolio, designed by French interior decorator Tristan Auer. These luxurious accommodations feature a double bed, a separate seating area, an en suite bathroom, and panoramic windows, all designed to evoke the ambiance of a country manor, complete with dark-wood paneling and upholstery from Scottish textiles brand Araminta Campbell. This is in addition to the recently launched Dior Spa, which opened in April 2023 on the same train.