The Château de Prangins (VD) traces the beginnings of world tourism, between 1869 and 1914. From Jules Verne to the first globetrotters, the exhibition “Tours du Monde” explores how technological progress and the collective imagination have transformed our way of traveling.
The world tour has not always been within click. A fascinating exhibition at the Prangins castle brings back the visitors in the period from 1869 to 1914, at the time when world tourism took off. “For the first time in history, one could buy a package ticket and go around the world as a tourist, not as a venturer or military,” explains Helen Bieri Thomson, director of the Swiss National Museum of Prangins in the Vertigo show on August 18.
Innovations that change the situation
This travel revolution was made possible by a series of technological advances. The drill of the Suez Canal, the construction of railways crossing India and the United States, as well as the opening of a maritime line between San Francisco and Yokohama have created a real “belt” around the world, allowing to move in relative security.
The release of the “Tour du Monde in 80 days” from Jules Verne, in 1872, created an unprecedented craze for distant trips. These adventures hitherto reserved for adventurers or merchants become accessible to wealthy tourists.
It is in this context that the first agencies offering “world towers” are emerging. The globetrotters set out to discover a world that has become theirs with the birth of the Empires, in particular the British Empire.
Among these new travelers, Swiss and Swiss bring back stories and memories: trinkets, postcards, photographs of their stops. These objects mark out the route of the exhibition, spread over two floors of the Prangins castle.
A critical look at the past
![The Tour du Monde in 80 days, displays of the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, 1876. [Bibliothèque Municipale de Nantes, Fonds Jules Verne - F. Pellois]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== "The Tour du Monde in 80 days, displays of the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, 1876. [Bibliothèque Municipale de Nantes, Fonds Jules Verne - F. Pellois]")
The exhibition does not ignore the darker aspects of that time. The development of transport and the opening of the world are intimately linked to the industrial revolution and to colonization which marked the 19th century.
The exhibition deconstructs the colonial and imperialist stereotypes present in certain posters of the time, showing white “civilized” in the face of local populations portrayed as “wild”.
But the trip was not limited to physical movement alone. The exhibition highlights the “motionless journey” made possible by books, mapping or even stereoscopic glasses which offered 3D views of exotic destinations and made the world accessible without leaving your living room.
“Tours du monde. From Jules Verne to the first globetrotters” finally questions visitors about travel and invites you to reflect on the face of current tourism.
Radio subject: Florence Grivel
Adaptation Web: Sébastien Foggiato
“Tours du monde. From Jules Verne to the first globetrotters”, Château de Prangins, from April 6 to October 26, 2025
