The Orient Express: A Golden Era of Travel
2025– · More4 · 60 min · 1 season
S01E04 · Episode 4
Thu, 25 Sept, 6:00 am
The train travels through the Balkans and reaches its final stop in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria before ending its journey in Istanbul.
About
The Orient Express: A Golden Era of Travel – a 4 x 60' series set to launch on More4 in September – will take viewers on the epic 1,700-mile journey from London to Istanbul. The series will travel along the route and stop at key cities and towns including Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest and Sofia – exploring how they each played an exciting role in passengers' journeys on the Orient Express.
In its golden era, the train was a second home for celebrities, politicians, monarchs and spies – as well as a notable inspiration for author, Agatha Christie – and the series will explore the history of the route and chart how Europe has changed since the Orient Express launched in 1883. As well as the glory days of the past, the series examines how war and political upheaval shaped and impacted the cross-country train service that connected countries across the continent for decades.
Comparing then and now, The Orient Express: A Golden Era of Travel will also feature the inaugural run of Golden Eagle's luxury train service from Paris to Istanbul – highlighting how the lavish rail travel pioneered by the Orient Express in the 19th and 20th centuries continues to this day.
Episodes
- E01
Episode 1
Thu, 4 Sept· 60 minIn the opening edition, the train rolls out and heads east, past the home of a forgotten villain whose fortunes were transformed by his journeys on the Orient Express. In Paris, there's a trip to the Moulin Rouge for a memorable night at the birthplace of the high-kicking can-can dance.
- E02
Episode 2
Thu, 11 Sept· 60 minThe train leaves Paris and heads east to jewellery-making Pforzheim, Munich, a city haunted by its dark past, and Salzburg, a city that pays tribute to its famous musical family in a most unexpected way.
- E03
Episode 3
Thu, 18 Sept· 60 minThe Express travels east through Austria. At a stopover in Vienna there's a session at the home of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, whose own flight to freedom is forever linked to the Orient Express. Later on in Budapest, there's a visit to one of the world's longest and fastest tram lines, run entirely by children.
- E04
Episode 4
Thu, 25 Sept· 60 minThe train travels through the Balkans and reaches its final stop in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria before ending its journey in Istanbul.