The Orient Express was the dream of a Belgian man named Georges Nagelmackers. Launched in 1883, it made its maiden journey from Paris to Romania, providing high society with a luxury train experience of rich tapestries, velvet curtains and fine crystal glassware. The original trains and their present-day stunning successor have carried famous passengers and featured in many movies including the new Murder on the Orient Express. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime desire for many to say they've travelled on this legendary service, but what’s today's version really like on board? loveEXPLORING editor-in-chief Dom Eames went to find out.

In 1977, Kentucky businessman James Sherwood purchased some of the old Orient Express train carriages at an auction in Monte Carlo. He eventually spent five years and over $16 million (£12m) restoring 35 historic sleepers, Pullmans and restaurant cars to revive a luxury train voyage from the golden age of travel. Today's Venice-Simplon-Orient Express is owned by Belmond, who offer similar luxury train journeys in the UK, Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Peru and even East Asia.

This is one train you won’t mind arriving a bit early for, such is the joy of seeing it arrive and the red carpet treatment you get when you set off. Travelling on the London-Venice route, you actually board a British Pullman train to start with from London’s Victoria station, to embark on the first leg of the journey through the Kent countryside, down to the English Channel, en-route to Calais in France.

Every carriage on the Pullman train has a unique history and Art Deco design. Ours was called Vera, built in 1932 as a first-class parlour car. In WWII she was directly hit by a Blitz air raid on Victoria station, but after being rebuilt entirely, in 1954 she was used on Prince Charles’s and Princess Anne’s first trip being pulled by an electric train. Vera was later preserved as a garden house in Suffolk, but returned to service in 1990 after some final restoration.

The splendour of the carriages is simply breathtaking. There’s exquisite detailing, including sandalwood patterned panels, offset by a mahogany border, featuring an antelope leaping between palm trees. The service is all warm smiles, good humour and nothing is too much trouble – it’s an instantly relaxing environment. If you’re lucky, you might just end up sitting where Nelson Mandela spent his journey on the Orient Express – an exciting detail, until fellow passengers want to take pictures of the seat.

Everything harks back to a time of sheer luxury and indulgence, and so you start the day with a three-course brunch – scrambled eggs and fresh smoked salmon – aboard the Pullman. At the end of the journey to the English Channel, you disembark and board a luxury bus to take you through the Channel Tunnel before arriving to hop on the Orient Express itself, which will take you all the way to Venice.

White-gloved staff wait on the platform to welcome you onto the Orient Express train. There’s nothing quite like arriving in style to board the world’s most luxurious train, and this is where the fun really begins.

The train has 89 double cabins and 16 singles, as well as three restaurant cars. You’re shown to your cabin by a steward. It’s all Art Deco marquetry, Art Nouveau lamps, plush velvet upholstery and gorgeous antique detailing from the 1920s. A door allows two adjoining cabins to be turned into a mini suite for families or groups of friends who want to share a larger space. But if you crave even more luxury, in 2018 there will be Grand Suites available, with double beds and a small living space, complete with en-suite bathrooms.

The ingenuity of the 1920s cabin design is a marvel in a carriage nearly a century old. Underneath the complimentary, high-end toiletries the table transforms into a fully working washbasin, complete with hot and cold running water. Robes and slippers are supplied should you want to lounge in your cabin before dressing for dinner, and there are electric plug sockets to charge your mobile devices overnight. There’s a bell to call the cabin steward who’s there to help you throughout the journey.

Before dinner, you’ll head to the bar car for an aperitif. Rather surprisingly, the original Orient Express trains never had a bar but they decided that it definitely needed one, so they converted an original 1931 dining car into a bar complete with a baby grand piano. There’s a great atmosphere that sets you up perfectly for dinner.

While it’s only fitting to sample the finest Champagnes while you’re enjoying the glamour of the roaring twenties – but be careful as the bar bill can mount up rather too easily. Even corkage on your own bottles is an eye-watering amount. You can never be overdressed on board and many gents opt for black tie for dinner.

For dinner, fresh produce comes from stops along the route including lobsters from Brittany and salt marsh lamb from Mont St Michel. If you really feel like splashing out, Beluga Caviar is available for €500 (£445). We enjoyed Blue Brittany Lobster on a spinach bed to start, followed by a fabulous slow-cooked fillet of roast beef with truffle flakes jus.

Those with a sweet tooth won’t be complaining either. This mandarin cheesecake rounded off our truly exceptional meal. The taste and attention to detail is up there with Michelin-quality restaurants.

It’s incredible the variety and quality of cooking that takes place on board the train, despite the cramped galleys. Even the bread rolls are freshly made on the train.

Come evening, a steward will come to your cabin to prepare it for bedtime, creating two bunk beds out of your comfy sofa. Despite the age of the carriages and the rhythm of the train, you can actually enjoy a pretty good night’s sleep. The beds are cosy but comfortable enough, though light sleepers may find earplugs are essential.

When you wake up in the morning you can buzz for your cabin steward who will bring a continental breakfast to your cabin, complete with freshly warmed bread, pastries, juice and tea and coffee served in fine china.

Of course, with all the bells and whistles on board it’s easy to forget to enjoy the simplest, most fabulous thing of all: the views. Travelling at a sedate average speed of around 40 miles per hour, there’s plenty of opportunity to gaze out the window as you tour through the French countryside, stopping in Paris, and then heading south towards Switzerland and Italy.

Beyond the eye-watering price tag, the most unpleasant thing about the Venice-Simplon Orient Express is leaving the train on arrival in Venice. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many, but the wonders of Venice are very good compensation for disembarking one of the world’s most fabulous train journeys. You arrive at Venice’s Santa Lucia Station in the early evening, just under 32 hours after leaving London, in time to sample the culinary and visual delights of this famous city. If you liked this, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more travel inspiration.