If you've ever imagined what it was like to travel on the Orient Express, a new exhibition in Paris has the answer.

Three restored carriages from the most celebrated of trains are on show at the World Arab Institute in Paris. Visitors can immerse themselves in the unique atmosphere that made the train the last word in elegant travel, and inspired authors such as Agatha Christie and Graham Greene.

The exhibition allows visitors to explore 3 original carriages of the Orient Express, which ran from 1883 to 1977.

In one carriage the scene is set for the early 1930's. A typewriter, an ashtray and a bottle of gin are in place, representing the creative space of author Graham Greene. His novel 'Stamboul Train' was set here, on the Orient Express.

Another seat is dedicated to Agatha Christie. Published in 1934, her detective novel 'Murder on the Orient Express' and the subsequent film of the same name brought the magic, mystery and sumptuousness of the train to a mass audience. This has ensured its place in history, not only as an icon of the industrial revolution, but also as a synonym for luxury and wealth.

The exhibit has enticed 260,000 visitors on board since it opened in April.

Curator Claude Mollard says the Orient Express is so popular because it harks back to a time when travel was more than just a means to an end:

"You had four days of travelling, during which you had nothing else to do but enjoy travelling. That meant meeting people, having conversations and being actively engaged with other passengers. So it was like being at a theatre show, but being the actor and comedian of your own theatre show," he said.

Onboard service of the finest food and drink would reflect the countries that were being travelled through. Mollard says even in today's first class air cabins and train compartments, the sheer luxury of the Orient Express at that time cannot be matched.

It took just under 68 hours to reach Istanbul, seven days to Cairo and eight days to Baghdad. These were places that before the Orient Express would have taken weeks or even months to reach.

Gilles Gauthier, Arab World Institute, said, "The Europeans in the 19th century were dreaming about the Orient, but the Orient was far away; but this train, the Orient Express, made that region reachable in three, or two and a half days, and that was the cause of its immediate success."

But it was the development of even faster transport - high speed trains and cheap passenger flights - that eventually saw the demise of the Orient Express. It made its last journey from Paris to Istanbul in 1977, although it continued to run an overnight service to Vienna until as late as 2007.

Today, the route no longer exists, but the Venice Simpion Orient Express - a private venture - still offers luxury train travel to destinations around Europe.

"Once Upon A Time The Orient Express" runs until August 31st.

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