Start your small-group tour with a pickup from your Istanbul hotel. Hop inside your air-conditioned minivan and travel to your first stop ─ Istanbul’s Sirkeci train station ─ one of the original terminals on the Wagon-Lits Orient Express route between Constantinople (later Istanbul) and Paris.
Head inside the impressive 19th-century station as your guide reveals colorful tales about the original train. Picture the polished carriages as they pulled up to the platform and hear about the onboard comforts, including plush sleeping compartments and luxurious dining cars.
After exploring the station, walk through the nearby streets to see the markets, mosques, churches and buildings linked to Istanbul during the train's glory days. On route, learn about the high-profile royals, diplomats and, even, con artists who used the service, and hear how the train inspired British murder mystery writer Agatha Christie to pen her 1934 classic, Murder on the Orient Express.
Stroll to the Golden Horn and admire views of Istanbul’s skyline on a boat ride across the water. Then, step back in time once more as you ride the T□nel subway, one of the world’s oldest underground trains. In operation since the late 1800s, the line once used lacquered-wood cars that echoed the stylish carriages of the Orient Express.
After emerging into the daylight, discover a few more historical sights in Beyo
lu and Galata as you explore by foot. Your tour then ends with a hotel drop-off.