A Return to Monte Carlo

The Monte Carlo That Captivated the World

Monte Carlo in the 1970s was a place of intoxicating contrasts. European aristocracy mingled with Hollywood royalty, the Princess Grace effect brought an air of elegance and romance and casinos, superyachts and the annual Grand Prix made this tiny Mediterranean enclave a playground for the world's glamorous elite.

It was a place where dignity met decadence, where old-world grace sat comfortably alongside new-world wealth. Ruled by the fabled House of Grimaldi for more than seven centuries, Monaco remains synonymous with exclusivity and prestige. But what connects the world's most glittering principality with one of travel's most exclusive experiences?

The answer began with a rainy day in Monte Carlo.

The Rainy Day That Changed Everything

James Blair Sherwood was born and raised in Kentucky and educated at Yale, before learning the intricacies of shipping during his time in the United States Navy. He went on to found Sea Containers, building the company over four decades from a cargo-container business into a sprawling transportation empire with interests in railways and beyond. 

Then, in 1976, Sherwood made his first foray into luxury hospitality, acquiring the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice. A year later, fate – and Sotheby's – brought him to Monte Carlo. 

The auction house was holding a sale in the principality, and among the lots were a collection of original 1920s carriages. That morning, the five carriages had made a final, rather fitting journey between Nice and Monte Carlo. On board was Princess Grace, enjoying brunch in the René Lalique-designed restaurant car, before the historic coaches were presented to prospective bidders. 

In Venice Simplon-Orient-Express: The Return of the World's Most Celebrated Train, Sherwood's wife Shirley recalled the day as “torrentially rainy”. Yet amid the crowds, cameras and television crews gathered at the depot, something caught her husband's imagination. 

“I decided to attend the sale with the idea of picking up some bargains,” he later wrote. “The mob scene of press and TV which jammed the Monte Carlo railway goods depot that day convinced me that there was magic in the [Venice Simplon]-Orient-Express name.” 

The first two carriages were snapped up by the King of Morocco. Sherwood, however, secured the next two. The price: $104,000. It was a modest beginning for what would become an extraordinary obsession. Sherwood had discovered what he called the indefinable “fizz” of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – and he wanted more. 

The Hunt for the Lost Carriages

Over the next five years, he scoured Europe in search of the lost carriages of the original train. More than 20 additional coaches were eventually tracked down, scattered across railway sidings in Spain, Paris, Ostend and Carnforth, near Lancaster. It was hardly glamorous work. “We went to freezing and often snowy railway sidings,” Shirley Sherwood recalled. “It was hard to believe these rotting, rusting hulks could ever become ‘runners’ again.” 

Inside, decades of neglect had taken their toll. The intricate marquetry was buried beneath layers of grime; once-luminous interiors had faded into disrepair. Sherwood ultimately invested some $20 million in finding the rolling stock, restoring the carriages, navigating international railway routes, assembling a team and bringing his vision to life.

The “Fizz” Returns

The dream finally emerged from the sidings on 25 May 1982. The inaugural journey from London to Venice departed Victoria Station first on the British Pullman for the UK leg, at 11:44am, after a red-carpet ceremony complete with Champagne and a 25-piece band. Among the guests were Liza Minnelli, the Duchess of Westminster and a constellation of royals, celebrities and society figures. The journey itself was every bit as theatrical; after travelling to Folkestone, guests crossed the Channel by ferry before boarding the newly restored Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, where another orchestra and a troupe of Breton girls in traditional lace headdresses awaited them. 

Dinner that evening was a menu of old-world indulgence: consommé double au sherry, mousse de saumon, noisettes d'agneau, cheese and soufflé glacé aux poires. In the Bar Car, the pianist played until 5am, while fresh croissants were brought aboard in Lausanne for breakfast. 

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express was back. 

And so began a legacy built not simply on luxury, but on romance, theatre and the delicious sense that something extraordinary might happen between one station and the next. It was a world of chance encounters, extravagant dining and ineffable glamour – a journey in which the destination was almost beside the point. 

Now, more than fifty years after that fateful Monte Carlo auction, the story is coming full circle. For the first time, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is returning to Monaco. On 10 May 2027, the world's most celebrated luxury train will depart Paris for Monte Carlo, tracing the spectacular coastline of the French and Italian Rivieras. Along the way, it will pass Cannes and Nice before arriving in the principality that played such an unlikely role in its resurrection. 

And there, amid the casinos, superyachts and legendary Formula One circuit, the train will return to the very place where its modern story began. A rainy auction. Five forgotten carriages. One audacious idea. And, more than five decades later, the fizz is still very much alive.