DESTINATIONS RAIL HOLIDAYS |DANUBE EXPRESS


stay WHERE TO


Hotels to add before and after the Danube Express journey


Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Bran Castle in Transylvania; breakfast on board; the service was always attentive and friendly; one of two dining cars on the Golden Eagle Danube Express PICTURE: Russell Higham


overhead lockers here; we’re back in the ‘golden age’ of travel. Instead, a dapper valet guides me to my Superior Deluxe cabin with its grand bathroom, living room with table and chairs, double wardrobe, solid wood panelling and an L-shaped sofa that converts into a king-sized bed. Pulling myself away from the scenery gliding


past the two full-sized picture windows, I join a gala dinner in one of the two dining cars. After an exquisite eight-course meal prepared by chef Joe Rawlins, whose Cheshire restaurant La Popote is listed in the Michelin Guide, there are cocktails in the bar with resident pianist-saxophonist Gabor. However, I retire to my cabin where a different kind of music, the soft hum of wheels on rails, lulls me gently to sleep.


TIME FOR TEA


Next morning, I’m awoken by a polite rap on the door when my valet, Laura, delivers a hot cup of tea at exactly the time, to the minute, I’d requested it for. While I’m at breakfast – a five-star affair with both buffet table and waiter service – she makes up my room for daytime use. Slowly but steadily, we cross from Bulgaria into


Romania, passing rustic villages and Soviet-era farms whose residents stop to wave, on our way to a very special event: a dinner date with the


36 30 APRIL 2026


goes one better for its guests, hiring out the top floor of Dracula’s Castle


Prince of Darkness. Bran Castle (aka Dracula’s Castle) dominates the craggy Transylvanian skyline and has been featured in countless horror films. The lower rooms of this medieval fortress – approached, as you’d expect, via a spooky graveyard – are available for public viewing. But Golden Eagle always goes one better for its guests, hiring out the top floor of the castle, where a private dining room can be found via a long, dark stone staircase. A chamber quartet plays as we dine, and I’m glad to see the steak is not served worryingly rare…


PLAIN SPEAKING The following day brings another country and another adventure. In Lajosmizse on the Great Hungarian Plain (or Puszta), we’re treated to a spectacular show at Tanyacsárda, a top cultural attraction with a horse farm, riding school and a restaurant voted the best in Hungary. After


Golden Eagle always


Few hotels could rival this 170-room Ottoman palace for location and views, sitting on the Bosphorus Strait looking across the water to Asia. From the balcony of my suite, complete with cavernous marble bathroom, or from its wide waterfront restaurant terrace, I can almost reach out to the minarets twinkling in the sun as calls to prayer echo around the city. Ornate gardens are lined with sculptures by artist Lorenzo Quinn (son of


actor Anthony Quinn) and lead to the vibrant neighbourhood of Besiktas, where locals


mingle among riverside cafes and market stalls. Combined with Four Seasons’ superlative


service, it’s the perfect start to this luxury rail journey. Room rates from £527 per night. fourseasons.com/bosphorus


Radisson Collection Hotel, Basilica Budapest


A short walk from Budapest-Nyugati station, newly opened Radisson Collection Hotel, Basilica Budapest is the perfect base to


explore Hungary’s magnificent capital. Its 71 stylish rooms are housed in a former school, with a rooftop cocktail bar overlooking revered landmark, St Stephen’s Basilica. The chic ground-floor restaurant serves Hungarian and international cuisine but leave room for the area’s latest foodie draw, the Time Out


Market in Corvin Palace, a picturesque tram ride away. Rooms from £114 per night. radissonhotels.com


² travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Paul Thuysbaert


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