With its stunningly beautiful landscapes offering everything from ocean coastlines and mountain ranges to centuries-old fortresses and houses with terracotta roofs stacked on top of each other in a cliff overlooking the Douro River, the Iberian nation of Portugal rarely fails to enchant even the most hardened travelers.
While first-time arrivals will usually pass through the capital of Lisbon as a stopover on a larger European trip, many will then find themselves wanting to explore further and go deeper into the areas not immediately within the city.
As trends like slow travel and seeing more of a country by train continue to gain momentum around the world, local luxury train company Alva Rail is drawing inspiration from the iconic luxury passenger train The Orient Express for an opulent journey through Portugal as developers in countries like China, Japan and Australia also set their sights on similar projects.
The Valverde Train will take guests through non-touristic Portugal in luxury
Investing €21.6 million into a project that it is naming The Valverde Train, Alva Rail is hoping to convert a number of decommissioned 1970s-era carriages from national railway operator CP (Comboios de Portugal) into a boutique train hotel that will take guests through routes showing off some of the lesser-known gems of Portugal.
Much around the project, including exact itineraries and when it is expected to start taking passengers, will be determined as Alva Rail gets farther along in converting the carriages.
The style of The Orient Express, which ran from Paris to Istanbul from 1883 until 2009, is one of extreme opulence: gilded carriages with Art Deco and Belle Époque interiors full of velvet upholstery, rare wood panels and gleaming brass and silver accents, Lalique panels in floral motifs and the legendary Bar Car ‘3674’ that served as the train’s social hub.
Alva Rail is describing the Portuguese vision as an “exclusive hotel train, unique in Portugal” that takes passengers on different journeys across the country while traveling in luxury accommodations and enjoying fine regional foods and wines.
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According to the project plan published on a website run by the Portuguese government, development will begin by September 2026 and is expected to finish on August 30, 2029.
This means that the first journeys in such extravagant accommodations — routes on similar ultra-luxury train trips in other countries will typically start at $20,000 USD for a weekly journey — would potentially be able to begin by 2030.
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The most famous luxury train in Portugal historically, the Presidential Train, was built in 1890 for King Dom Luís I in similarly opulent style and later transitioned to running heads of state and other important guests when Portugal became a republic in 1910.
The daylong train journey began and ended at the São Bento Station in Porto after passing through scenic landscapes of vineyards and medieval villages in the Douro Valley.
Having never operated commercially, the Presidential Train was retired to Portugal’s National Railway Museum in 1970 and is now periodically opened up to visitors interested in its history.
Related: There is a new luxury way to explore Japan by train
