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If winter plans feel scattered — a market here, a concert there — consider a different axis: let the train be the destination. For those asking not “where to go” but “how to do it beautifully,” the answer is on rails. The following three routes gather ceremony, scenery, and service into one seamless ritual, built for travellers who want December to feel composed rather than crowded.
There are winter journeys that simply get you somewhere, and then there are trains that become the somewhere. This feature threads three of Europe’s most evocative festive rides: Belmond’s British Pullman, serving champagne lunches in 1920s carriages departing London; the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, running winter city pairs under its midnight-blue livery; and Switzerland’s Glacier Express in Excellence Class, where window seats, concierge service, and a multi-course menu carry travellers between St. Moritz and Zermatt. Together, they form a seasonal trilogy of ritual and scenery: polished silverware and soft snowfall, white-gloved service and alpine light, the old grammar of travel restored.
Think steam-warmed platforms, brass nameplates catching a pale sun, and dining rooms that feel like private clubs in motion. Each departure is less an itinerary than a ceremony — a measured sequence of welcome drinks, course-by-course indulgence, and picture-window theatre — designed for those who value time as part of the destination. For the ultra-affluent traveller, these trains are not nostalgic diversions but precision experiences: rarefied, beautifully paced, and unmistakably festive.
British Pullman, ‘Festive Lunch’ (London Round-Trip)
What to expect
A red-carpet check-in at London Victoria, live platform music, and a welcome coupe of champagne set the tone before white-gloved stewards guide guests to art-deco carriages — each with its own history, inlaid marquetry, and softly lit sconces. Festive Lunch departures operate as round-trips designed to centre the onboard ritual: a five-course meal by Chef Jon Freeman and team, thoughtful wine pairings, and petit fours, with snow-dusted countryside unspooling like a moving Christmas card beyond picture windows. The cadence is unhurried: an amuse-bouche as the whistle sounds, signature mains served on crested china, cheese and dessert arriving just as fields turn to woodland. Service moves at conversation pace; courses are announced, not rushed, and the carriage’s original detailing — brass luggage racks, veneered panels, bevelled mirrors — becomes part of the theatre.
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Best seats
Tables for two are the most coveted, ideal for couples who want the romance of facing the view rather than the aisle. On select cars, private coupés can be reserved — perfect for families or duos seeking total seclusion (a discreet refuge for proposals, anniversaries, or multigenerational celebrations). While an observation car offers vantage points for peeking and photographs, consider it an interlude; your table is your sanctuary, the locus of service, storytelling, and stillness.
Dress & timing
This is an occasion for smart daywear: velvet jackets, winter silks, polished boots, heirloom cufflinks if you wish. Arrive early to enjoy the private lounge and platform atmosphere — string quartet, steam plumes, brass nameplates catching pale winter sun — and linger after disembarkation for that returning photograph beneath a haze of vapour and light.
How to pair it
Make the day feel complete with a suite at a London grande dame (think high ceilings, deep baths, and a fire on return). Start with a pre-boarding brunch within easy reach of Victoria, then let the Pullman carry the middle act. On your return, book a late-afternoon tea back in town — a gentle landing after silverware and scenery. Travelling with children? Ask the pastry team in advance to stage a surprise finale — a tiny sleigh, sugar bells, or a miniature chocolate train delivered to the table — a capstone detail they will remember long after the steam has thinned.
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (Winter City Pairs)
Why go in winter
Winter pares the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express back to its essence: a private-club atmosphere in motion, quieter than spring and autumn, with a real chance of snow through the Brenner or the Alps. Routes rotate — Paris, Vienna, Venice, Verona, Prague and other pairings — but the grammar of the journey holds: deep-blue carriages, Lalique glass panels, polished brass, and a bar car that hums well past midnight as the pianist threads standards through the clink of coupes and crystal. The scenery sharpens in the cold; forests and steeples arrive as vignettes between silvered fields, then vanish into tunnels and candle-lit dining rooms.
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Cabins & suites
Accommodation defines cadence. Historic Cabins convert from sofa by day to upper/lower berths by night, perfect for traditionalists who like the ritual of turndown and the rhythm of corridor life. Suites add double beds and mosaic-tiled bathrooms, a generous upgrade that keeps the carriage’s Art Deco language intact while smoothing logistics from dressing to dawn coffee. At the apex, the Grand Suites feel like private apartments: marble bathrooms, upholstered headboards, salon seating for in-cabin breakfasts that play like film scenes, and space to dress for dinner without choreography. Whichever you choose, expect starched linens, attentive stewards, and the soft percussion of wheels as a sleep soundtrack.
How to pair it
Let the train be the centrepiece, then book seasonal light around it. Anchor Christmas-market weekends at either end — Vienna, Strasbourg, or Verona — so you step off directly into Advent glow. If you collect moments, align with a New Year’s concert or even a gala ball; concierge teams will secure tickets and time transfers so the train’s arrival dovetails with the overture. In Venice, arrange a private launch at Santa Lucia and a fireside cicchetti interlude before the lagoon night walk; in Paris, a right-bank brasserie table held to the minute the platform haze clears.
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Booking notes
Suite inventory is lean and goes early; reserve cabins and dining preferences as soon as dates publish. Flag dietary requirements in advance — they’re handled with grace and precision, from kosher plating protocols to dairy-free patisserie — and discuss wardrobe storage with your steward if travelling with formalwear. For the best bar-car seats, dine on the earlier sitting; for the quietest morning coffee, order in-cabin and watch the frost recede as daylight finds the brass.
Glacier Express, Excellence Class (St. Moritz ↔ Zermatt)
Experience
Excellence Class distils the Glacier Express to its essentials and then elevates them. Every seat is a window seat, aligned to vast panes that frame viaducts, deep valleys and villages folded into snow. A dedicated concierge orchestrates the day with a light touch — welcome champagne, route briefings, discreet course pacing — while a multi-course tasting menu traces the landscape in flavour: Grisons charcuterie, alpine cheeses, herb broths, lake fish, then something sweet as the mountains soften. Service is synchronised to scenery; tables are reset as gorges open, glasses refreshed as the line crests a pass. The bar sits like a jewel box with panoramic glazing, perfect for a mid-journey pause. The tone is unhurried, almost spa-like: wide seats, quiet conversation, snow glittering on the sill.
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Winter planning
Mind the autumn maintenance pause (mid-October to early December); then target the immediate post-reopening weeks for brilliant, newly laid snowfields and calmer platforms before peak holidays. Winter rewards those who build an arc: begin with a night in St. Moritz (classic glamour, lake paths, fireplace lobbies), ride Excellence Class through the white corridor by day, and close in Zermatt — car-free hush, Matterhorn angles at dusk, and dinner within steps of your suite. Luggage forwarding and door-to-door transfers keep the choreography frictionless; your day remains about windows, not logistics.
Best way to ride
Choose east–west in morning light for sun striking valley floors and frosted barns, or west–east for the late glow that turns cliffs to burnished bronze. Pack a soft scarf (carriages are warm; platforms are not), a notebook for names of passes and peaks, and accept that you’ll photograph less than you feel — the view is better lived than captured.
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Order coffee just before the Landwasser Viaduct so the cup steadies as arches appear; take your digestif on the descent toward Visp when the sky thins to silver. The pleasure here is precision without pressure: scenery delivered at the tempo of breath, cuisine keyed to altitude, and a carriage that understands the rare luxury of doing nothing but looking out.
How to Book It Beautifully (All Three)
Lead times: 8–12 weeks is civilized; for holiday weeks, place earlier holds and waitlists.
Private hires: Possible on the British Pullman; ask about partial-car charters for families or milestone events.
Transfers: Arrange black-car arrivals and porterage at both ends to remove friction; confirm platform assistance for elderly guests.
Dress code: Smart, celebratory — winter silks, velvet, polished shoes, and one heirloom detail (a brooch, cufflinks, a pocket square) you’ll remember in photographs.
Children: British Pullman is most adaptable; VSOE suits older children used to formal service; the Glacier Express mesmerises any age with pure scenery.
What Insiders Book
British Pullman: A table for two on the sunward side and a celebratory cake with a hidden inscription; early lounge arrival for live music.
VSOE: A Suite on a winter route that slides past a Christmas-market city, timed to arrive at dusk; a late bar-car session with the resident pianist.
Glacier Express: Excellence Class on the first weeks after reopening, paired with St. Moritz spa time and a Zermatt fondue supper booked within walking distance of the station.
Micro-FAQ
Does the British Pullman run every December? Yes — look for Festive Lunch and special seasonal departures across November and December.
Are there winter Orient-Express journeys? Yes — selected winter city pairs operate on the VSOE; routes and dates vary by year.
What exactly is Excellence Class? A premium carriage on the Glacier Express with guaranteed window seating, concierge service, and elevated dining.
Is November a good month for the Glacier Express? Note the service pause mid-October to early December; plan for just after the restart.
Can I charter a whole carriage? On the British Pullman, yes (subject to availability). Private groups on VSOE require bespoke arrangements via Belmond.
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Pro tip: Confirm dietaries and seating preferences at booking; request sunward tables, piano-adjacent bar stools, or quiet corners. Add luggage forwarding between hotels, and ask your concierge to hold post-journey dinner tables timed to the platform whistle — it turns an exceptional ride into a perfectly framed day. ◼Subscribe to the latest edition now by clicking here.
© This article was first published online in Sept 2025 – World Travel Magazine.
