The Orient Express was a long-distance passenger luxury train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe, with terminal stations in Paris in the northwest and Istanbul in the southeast, and branches extending service to Athens, Brussels, and London.
The Nord Express was a long-distance international express train which for more than a century connected Paris with first Russia and later Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia. In its heyday before the First World War, it was considered the ultimate luxury train in Europe.
Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide.
CWT is a travel management company that manages business travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, and handles event management.
Georges Lambert Casimir Nagelmackers was a Belgian civil engineer and businessman, famous for founding the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and creating the Orient Express.
Mitropa was a catering company best known for having managed sleeping and dining cars of different German railways for most of the 20th century. Founded in 1916, the name "Mitropa" is an abbreviation of Mitteleuropa. The railway carriages displayed a distinct burgundy-red livery with the Mitropa logo.
The Night Ferry was an international boat train from London Victoria to Paris Gare du Nord that crossed the English Channel on a train ferry. It ran from 1936 until 1939 when it ceased due to the onset of World War II. It resumed in 1947, ceasing in 1980. It was operated by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits until 1977 and then British Rail.
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond.
Pullman is the term for railroad sleeping cars that were built and operated by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968.
Mercure is a French midscale hotel chain owned by Accor. Created in 1973 in France, the brand was acquired by Accor in 1975, and subsequently became a major part of the company's midscale hotel portfolio, alongside Novotel. As of 2021, Mercure operated 949 hotels in 63 countries. Outside Europe, Accor additionally uses has the Grand Mercure brand, an upscale subsidiary in currently 12 countries.
The Calais-Mediterranée Express was a French luxury night express train which operated from 1886 to 2003. It gained international fame as the preferred train of wealthy and famous passengers between Calais and the French Riviera during the interwar period. It was colloquially referred to as Le Train Bleu in French and the Blue Train in English because of its dark-blue sleeping cars.
The Taurus Express is a passenger train operating daily between Konya and Adana. In the past it was a premier overnight passenger train operated by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits between Istanbul and Baghdad. After 1972, passengers could travel down to Basra via connection to the Express 2 made at Baghdad Central Station. However, service was suspended in 2003, due to the outbreak of war in Iraq. In 2012, the State Railways renewed service between Eskişehir and Adana and will once again service Istanbul when track work in the city is complete. There is a chance that the train may continue to its former terminus in Baghdad in the future, but the possibility remains low for the time being.
Luxury trains are a premium passenger rail service. Some luxury trains promote tourism in destinations across a region, while others take passengers on a ride through a single country.
The Glade of the Armistice is a French war memorial in the Forest of Compiègne in Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Paris. It was built at the location where the Germans signed the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I. During World War II, Adolf Hitler chose the same spot for the French and Germans to sign the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after Germany won the Battle of France. The site was destroyed by the Germans but rebuilt after the war.
The Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hôtels (CIGH) was founded on 11 April 1894 as a subsidiary of the railway company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL). This hotel chain was established to provide the customers of CIWL with high quality accommodation before or after their train journey.
Le Lyonnais, or the Lyonnais, was an express train that linked Paris and Lyon in France. Introduced in 1968, it was operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français (SNCF). The train is named after the geographical area known as the Lyonnais, a historical (former) French province, whose name came from the city of Lyon.
L'Oiseau Bleu was an international express train linking Antwerp with Paris. The train was named after the play L'Oiseau Bleu as a tribute to its author, the Belgian Nobel prize laureate Maurice Maeterlinck.
Le Rhodanien, or the Rhodanien, was an express train with its southern terminus in Marseilles, France. Operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français (SNCF), it was named using the French language adjective derived from the Rhone river; the name alludes, amongst other things, to the river, its valley, and the dialect of the Franco-Provençal language that is spoken there.
The Compiègne Wagon was the train carriage in which both the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and Armistice of 22 June 1940 were signed.
Pullman Hotels and Resorts is a French multinational upscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Pullman has 145 hotels and resorts in 42 countries spread across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle-East and Oceania.
![The Grand Hotel des Wagons-Lits [de], also known as the Six Nations Hotel, in Beijing before 1949. The Grand Hotel of Peking.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/The_Grand_Hotel_of_Peking.jpg/300px-The_Grand_Hotel_of_Peking.jpg)
