The Orient Express

Passionate about history and fascinated by revolutionary artistic movements, whether it be the Italian Renaissance to the Viennese Secession, or Art Nouveau to Art Deco, the architect began his career with the creation of sceneography for Daum and Hermès, in collaboration with the American designer Hilton McConnico.

For the last 20 years, Maxime d’Angeac has taken on prestigious restoration and decoration projects, such as the Maison Guerlain on the Champs-Elysées, breathing new life into all the apartments, castles and private villas that are entrusted to him.

D’Angeac is an architect with a passion for literature, and a collector of old books, including treatises on architecture and industrial history, with his interests extending into travel novels. In his library, you can read stories by Paul Morand, Henry Miller and Ernest Hemingway. Further, you will find Wagon-Lit by Joseph Kessel, Prose on the Trans-Siberian Railway by the poet Blaise Cendrars, and biographies of artists of the new century such as the art collector Peggy Guggenheim, the philosophy of Walter Benjamin and even a collection of Agatha Christie novels. Each piece serving as references that make him the natural choice to lead the new Orient Express project.

Under large Second Empire-style domes of light, each supported by four columns, the intimate lounges of the Bar Car emanate with spectacular green hues. From the rosewood to the marble…

Under a vaulted ceiling, punctuated by “flower” lamps signed by Lalique, original pieces recovered from the Nostalgie-IstanbulOrient-Express, a graphic and rhythmic carpet animates the space. The large windows, perfect screens reflecting the passing landscapes, are adorned with embroidered curtains and support bars to give passengers the chance to dream or to meet and converse with each other.

Spectacular and unexpected, designed with both comfort and luxury in mind, the Dining Car of the future Orient Express reinterprets the codes of the legendary train. Under a mirrored ceiling, crossed by a series of arches reflecting a soft subdued light, napa tables and armchairs are lined up, lit by lamps with shades revisiting the original models.

A private lounge revives the original marquetry panels of the train. In the back, behind a glass wall, the kitchen opens up, a space reserved for the chef and his kitchen brigade, where we can see their movements and culinary choreography.

Welcome to a world of luxury where comfort and function collide.

the partitions are covered with precious wood and a leather wall that reinterprets Suzanne Lalique’s famous “rail” motifs. The headboards are covered with wooden embroidery with mother-of-pearl and bronze beads. A carpet “comet” is an invitation to reverie. The nooks are adorned with Lalique’s original “Blackbirds & grapes” panels, recovered from the original Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient Express cars. Elliptical shelves hold newspapers, objects and travel souvenirs. Bottle holders and glasses are cleverly arranged.

By “Day”, the sofa and settee invite you to rest, relax and read. When it’s time for “the Great Transformation” (also known as the passage to the “night” room configuration), a 2 x 1.40-meter bed invites travelers for a night of deep sleep. Discreet and surprisingly comfortable, the bathroom with sliding doors is adorned with marble and the toilets and dressing room complete the beautiful layout.

The Presidential Suite is a space with unique dimensions, measuring 69 feet long and 9 feet wide. Its 55 square meter space was designed to accommodate a living-room or “Salon des Quatre Colonnes”, a dreaming bedroom for two, a bathroom, a “Cabinet de l’Égoïste” and a secondary “LX” luxury sleeping car, the original model of the Nostalgie-Istanbul-Orient-Express.