What it’s like to stay aboard Italy’s hedonistic new Orient Express train, La Dolce Vita

The intimate communal spaces means guests naturally bond, from the five-course lunch menu in the restaurant car to the evening live band performances in the lounge bar.

For lunch, we sat down in the restaurant cart for a five-course menu by Heinz Beck, Rome’s only chef with three Michelin stars which he amassed during his 30-year tenure La Pergola. The menu changes depending on the itinerary. For our Tuscan excursion, the ingredients matched the region’s finest, starting with a fresh panzanella salad, chestnut cake with duck prosciutto and an absolutely gorgeous pumpkin gnocchi with mushrooms. Cocktails are shaken up in the bar cart next door and there’s an impressive wine pairing to go with the meal.

That winds us over to our Tuscan off-board adventure. While the destinations may seem like the big tourist go-tos (Venice, Positano, Tuscany), the excursions take you to the hidden gems and lesser-known sides of the regions. For us, that was Montalcino vineyard Argiano, one of the smaller wineries in the area which has been producing Brunello di Montalcino for nearly 500 years. These vineyards change throughout so repeat travellers won’t necessarily go to the same place twice.

After seamlessly being whisked in cars to the winery, our private visit began with an art tour in the vineyard’s galleries to see the owner’s private collection of medieval and Renaissance art followed by a tour of the barrels and the wine cellar and a special four-course dinner paired with vintages for wine tasting alongside the meal.

The evening concludes back on board in the lounge car for live music by Rome-based American singer Tess Amodeo Vickery, a relative of Frank Sinatra, who got the lounge car lively with songs like ‘New York, New York’ and ‘Mambo Italiano’ and handed out tambourines for guests to get involved and a DJ set for those keeping the night going. The sleeping carriages are so well sound-proofed, a few guests on board didn’t actually realise any of this was happening.

After a sleep that was akin to being rocked to sleep as the train chugs back to Rome, stopping every four or so hours to replenish water onboard), I opted for the a-la-carte breakfast in the dining cart but you can also ask your cabin steward for a continental breakfast in your suite.

With over 30 staff also on board during this slick two-day adventure, it’s quite remarkable to think about the whole affair. From someone on board ready to help guests with their every whim, to conjuring Michelin-star-worthy meals in a tiny, moving kitchen and a full-on live band it makes you think of the Agatha Christie quote, “The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.”