Taking a luxury train ride is a lot more than just getting from A to B. Travel is changing, and our desire for slower ways to travel is enforcing the notion that the travel itself is as important as the destination. In some ways this is a waft of nostalgia, taking us back to a time when great attention was given to travelling in luxury, a golden age of travel when decadence inhabited steamer ships and roamed the corridors of luxury trains.

You love rail travel but also want to explore further afield than Europe; this is a conundrum many of our customers call us about.

When Kenneth Branagh’s action-man Hercule Poirot first bounds onto the screen, we find ourselves in Jerusalem 1933. And while this is sure to be an unfamiliar opening to many of Christie’s more avid readers, we’re soon back into comfortable territory as Poirot’s sense of self-importance and masterful pomp come bubbling to the surface during his self-absorbed denouement.

Has there ever been a finer example of luxury, glamour and class than the Orient Express? Possibly the first luxury train in the world, the Orient Express combines a refined heritage, elegant carriages and the highest class of on board service to offer passengers a once-in-a-lifetime experience on history’s greatest rail journey.

Ask anyone for their idea of an iconic train, and the answer will always be the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. This famous train has seen many iterations in its history, but currently it runs as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, run by Belmond, and still retaining its Golden Age charm that has enthralled passengers for many years.

The 'Golden Age' of rail travel is best experienced on board a true luxury train. From days out on a heritage rail experience, to far-flung adventures on board some of the best-known trains in the world, Belmond's luxury trains offer a magical way to see the world – and here, we've picked our favourite five.