L’Observatoire

Train travel has long captivated the imagination. L’Observatoire, the new private suite designed by French artist and photographer JR, aims to further engage that curiosity. 

The rail carriage was fashioned for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, with routes running from Paris to Portofino, Amsterdam to Venice, and Istanbul to Paris, among others. But around the world, other luxury brands also offer train trips that offer a glimpse into a glamorous old-world mode of slow travel, combining plush comfort with a promise of adventure—including Seven Stars in Kyushu, Japan; Rovos Rail in South Africa; The Ghan in Australia; and the soon-to-launch Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train in England and Wales. 

They’re not just nostalgic, though that’s part of it; after nine solid years of growth in train travel, tourists are booking the routes for the ease of a full-service trip without the environmental footprint of a cruise, and, yes, the social mediability of it all.

L’Observatoire is the legendary line’s first carriage to be reconceptualized by an artist. It’s also its most spacious, dominating the full length of the car. And while it maintains the train’s Art Deco aesthetic and five-star service, to step into L’Observatoire is to step inside the artist’s mind. 

“This carriage is a method to slow time,” JR says. “Just by the process of slow travel, you enhance the possibilities of dreaming, of daydreaming.”

The bedroom, one such place to dream, contains one of the carriage’s two oculus-shaped skylights, so guests can stargaze from the comfort of their bed. The room’s curved walls are lined with wooden scallops that resemble leaves, each carved and covered in hand-painted green leather. There’s also a freestanding bathtub and a stained-glass installation by artist Michael Mayer. 

There’s plenty to explore in the carriage. Original photographs by JR, whose work has appeared on the cover of TIME, line the corridors, and moving down to the library, travelers choose from a selection of books by French publisher Gallimard, vinyl handpicked by JR or simply watch the scenery unfold from the window-side daybed. A bookshelf cleverly conceals one of the artist’s favorite spaces: a secret tea room equipped with a fireplace and second oculus. The pillow-lined area is as well-suited for relaxation as it is discovery. Peek inside a miniature train installation to find a film with clues to surprises secreted throughout the carriage, including a hidden note that could lead you to JR’s first Leica camera.

In the evening, pop out for a toast in the train’s Bar Car ‘3674’ before returning to dinner, with a menu curated by Chef Jean Imbert, in the privacy of the suite, where the L’Observatoire lounge transforms into a dining area with room for five. There’s no closing time; on a luxury train, the journey is the point.