The Palace Trains Journal
Expert guides to the world's greatest luxury trains — where they go, what to see and eat along the way, and how to choose and book your journey.
Guides & Comparisons
GuidesThe World's Greatest Luxury Train Journeys: The Complete Guide
From the Australian outback to the Andes, a region-by-region tour of the trains we most often recommend.
IndiaLuxury Trains of India: Palace on Wheels, Maharajas' Express & Deccan Odyssey
Three trains, one Rajasthan-and-beyond obsession — how the Maharajas' Express, Palace on Wheels and Deccan Odyssey actually differ.
SpainSpain's Luxury Trains Compared: Al Andalus, El Transcantábrico, Costa Verde Express & La Robla
Four Renfe-operated luxury trains, two very different Spains — here's how Al Andalus, El Transcantábrico, Costa Verde Express and La Robla compare.
AfricaSouthern Africa by Luxury Train: Rovos Rail vs The Blue Train
Rovos Rail and The Blue Train both cross South Africa in style — here's how to choose between them.
United KingdomLuxury Trains of Britain & Scotland: Royal Scotsman, British Pullman & Britannic Explorer
From Highland glens to Cornish coves, three very different trains reveal Britain at a gentler pace.
EuropeThe Orient Express Family: Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, La Dolce Vita & Eastern & Oriental
Three trains share the Orient Express name and lineage — but their eras, routes, and personalities could not be more different.
AustraliaAustralia by Luxury Train: The Ghan vs the Indian Pacific
The Red Centre or the coast-to-coast crossing — how to choose between Australia's two great transcontinental trains.
PeruPeru by Luxury Rail: Andean Explorer & Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu
How to see Peru's Andes and Machu Picchu in comfort, aboard the Andean Explorer and the Hiram Bingham.
PlanningWhen to Travel: The Best Season for Every Luxury Train
Climate, festivals, and light change everything on a luxury train — here is when to book each route.
LifestyleDining by Rail: A Guide to Luxury Train Gastronomy Around the World
How the world's great luxury trains turn the dining car into the heart of the journey, one region's cuisine at a time.
PlanningChoosing Your First Luxury Train Journey: A Buyer's Guide
A first-timer's guide to matching budget, region, trip length and travel style to the right train.
PlanningHow to Book a Luxury Train: Cabins, Prices & Reservations Explained
What actually happens between choosing a train and boarding it — cabins, pricing, deposits, and release dates explained.
HeritageVersailles on Wheels: Ludwig II's Royal Train and the Birth of Luxury Rail
How a reclusive Bavarian king's gilded railway carriage invented the idea of the train as a palace - more than a decade before the Orient Express.
HeritageGeorges Nagelmackers and the Invention of the European Sleeping Car
Britain had bed-carriages in 1838, seven years before Nagelmackers was born; what the Belgian engineer actually invented was a company that could run a sleeping car across a national frontier.
HeritageMata Hari and the Orient Express: Separating the Spy Legend from the Record
The service was suspended from July 1914 until February 1919, sixteen months after she was shot at Vincennes, which makes the most famous image in her legend chronologically impossible.
HeritageThe Maharajas' Carriages That Became the Palace on Wheels
The train's first rake was built from real princely saloons dating back to 1898, and every one of them was withdrawn by the mid-1990s for reasons more practical than romantic.
HeritageGeorge Pullman and the American Palace Car
Sleeping cars had run in America for 26 years before Pullman built the Pioneer; what he actually invented was the rule that no railway was allowed to own one.
HeritageLalique, Prou and the Glass That Was Never on the Orient Express
The Art Deco glass and marquetry everyone associates with the Orient Express was designed for a Riviera Pullman that ran for less than a decade, and it took three designers, not one.
HeritageLe Train Bleu: The Winter Train That Made the Côte d'Azur
Wagons-Lits built the Calais–Méditerranée Express for a Riviera that emptied in summer; it turned blue in 1922, lent its name to a ballet and a Paris restaurant, and its carriages are still running.
HeritageRohan Vos and the Rescued Rolling Stock of Rovos Rail
How a Witbank motor-spares dealer, a tariff the state railways would not waive, and a clutch of derelict dining cars produced Africa's best-known private train.
HeritageWhy The Ghan Is Named After Afghan Cameleers
The official story says Australia's great north-south train honours the cameleers who opened the interior; the railway record suggests the name began as a railwayman's joke about a near-empty sleeper.
Train Journals
Every train has its own Journal — 20+ questions answered on routes, cabins, dining, timing and booking.
Destination Guides
Places to see, where to eat, and which luxury train takes you there — across 61 destinations.
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