You don’t need us to tell you why Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient Express should be on everyone’s travel bucket list. But if you were looking for a final push to convince you that 2025 should be the year you hop onboard, this is it: The legendary train has launched a new route, whisking travelers from Paris through the romantic French countryside and onto the rolling hills and breathtaking lands of Tuscany.

The latest itinerary on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express goes from Paris to Tuscany.

Maureen M. Evans

Outside, the French countryside unfurls gradually as passengers enjoy life on the legendary train.

Maureen M. Evans

Belmond has long been hailed as the purveyor of true slow luxury, providing guests with a unique blend of history, glamour, and wanderlust. For the latest route, travelers can choose between three types of accommodation. The Historic Cabins are cozy booths where passengers perch on banquette seating and watch the world zoom by, and transform into intimate bedrooms come nightfall. The Suites are larger versions of these accommodations, with the same lacquered walls and Art Deco design, but with a double bed, ensuite bathroom, and more space. The Grand Suites are the creme de la creme of cabins—decadent, luxurious rooms with marbled ensuites, giant windows, red velvet fabrics, free-flowing Champagne, and 24-hour butler service.

The historic train cars feature 20th-century at its finest, evoking the mythic golden age of train travel.

Ludovic Balay

Stewards serve afternoon tea, dinner, breakfast, and then lunch over the course of a one-night journey on the VSOE.

Popp Thorpe

For this new journey, guests will embark on the journey from Gare d’Austerlitz in Paris. The train sets off in the afternoon, and travelers are welcomed onboard with a selection of pastries alongside tea and coffee—and Champagne, if you so please. The rest of the day is spent admiring the postcard-perfect vistas from the cabin; in the evening, the feasting begins, featuring culinary creations by chef Jean Imbert, whose menu for the journey was inspired by the regions the train travels through. Guests can also head to Bar Car 3674 for a night spent sipping cocktails and listening to live piano music, before retiring to their cabins to fall asleep with the gentle rocking of the train.

After the rail journey, guests will check into the beautiful Castello di Casole, A Belmond Hotel, Tuscany.

Daniele Ragazzini

This new journey to Tuscany comes after the success of the 2024 Paris-to-Portofino route, which returns this summer.

Daniele Ragazzini

The next morning, views of the Italian countryside greet travelers, and breakfast is served in cabins. After a leisurely morning, guests will arrive in Siena, where a guided tour awaits to introduce them to the historic city in all its glory, including a visit to the 13th-century Palazzo Pannocchieschi d’Elci. Finishing the day on a high, the party will be transported to Castello di Casole, Belmond’s farm estate in the Tuscan countryside. Guests will spend two nights here, amidst a landscape of vineyards, olive groves and rolling hills as far as the eye can see. The following day, a host of activities from a traditional sagra-style lunch, a gathering of local artisans, wellness experiences at the spa and stargazing sessions will take place.

The new journey announcement comes after the success of the 2024 Portofino route, which will resume this summer, joining a roster of incredible legacy journeys offered by Belmond, including Istanbul to Paris, Lyon to Venice and Amsterdam to Verona.

Prices for ‘Paris to Tuscany by a Legend of the Rails’ start from £8,600 per person based on two guests sharing a Historic Cabin on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and two nights in a Junior Suite at Castello di Casole. Buy tickets at belmond.com.

A version of this article originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller UK.