Luxury Train Venice Simplon-Orient-Express’ Glamorous $103,000 Suite Is the World’s Most Expensive Carriage

“You’re entering a small part of my world,” says French artist JR, as we step inside what is easily the most glamorous suite in a luxury train right now – an entire train carriage aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express that the creative has transformed into a sliver of his enigmatic world.

In the carriage, the walls are covered with leather scales – placed by hand, one by one. The marquetry represents a mountain landscape, to continue the metaphor of the journey until bedtime.

© Ludovic Balay

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At $103,000 a night, it is an unforgettable experience and it begins right on the platform in Paris as saxophonists clad in red velvet play the first notes that accompany the departure of the train. Like the other eight carriages, number 3553 is entirely dedicated to the traveller who books it, but it’s particularly sumptuous: akin to a hotel suite on wheels. JR asserts that L’Observatoire is “a moving work of art” bearing his signature.

The living room transforms for dining with the addition of crisp linens and crystal.

© Ludovic Balay

The bathtub in the bedroom is framed by backlit stained glass.

© Ludovic Balay

The concept started with the use of marquetry as window panels, so as to travel without being seen. “In this car, you are alone in the world,” continues JR, explaining how railway stations have long provided a canvas for his street art. “Trains were, from the beginning, a place where I installed my works,” he confides. The difference this time is that his work is very much welcome, and decorates the inside of a carriage. On board the Venice Simplon- Orient-Express, the marquetry is both a love letter to craftsmanship and full of knowing winks to JR’s less bourgeois creations.

“I wanted to create secret places,” he explains, revealing a concealed tearoom-meets-library as if by magic. The cosy nook has curved walls covered with books, a fireplace and an oculus in the ceiling, which reveals glimpses of the sky. Charmingly displayed between the shelves, miniature model trains worthy of major collectors have been created expressly for the project. This secret nook alone took two years to complete because the windows have exquisite marquetry shutters, on which travellers can observe various scenes. To glean the inspiration for this miniature work, JR filmed extras laughing and dancing for an entire night. There are also clues hidden on the screens, inviting passengers on a treasure hunt through this unqiue luxury train carriage. The bounty at stake? JR’s very first camera. “I used all the wasted space to hide things – it’s part of the fun,” he says. Elsewhere, there’s a divan tucked behind a curtain, designed for daydreaming lulled by a
soothing vinyl collection. If you’re feeling more energetic, a disco ball drops down from the ceiling.

In the bathroom, the nods to JR's work continue on the mosaic floor.

© Ludovic Balay

The marble- and mosaic-clad bathroom.

© Ludovic Balay

In all, it took three years for L’Observatoire to come to life, supported by several hundred artisans. The walls are lined with curved scales made from wood, leather and zinc, individually laid by hand; the bedroom features an enamel-and-metal bathtub and an impossibly beautiful stained-glass window made by German artisans using a centuries-old technique. JR is justifiably proud of the result. “I hope it’s a work that will go down in history,” he says. “I imagined every detail thinking about the fact that we were writing the beginning of a legend.” belmond.com