As part of a Swiss National Science Foundation research project, and in partnership with the University of Geneva, HEAD-Geneva is pleased to contribute to the exhibition "Tours du Monde - De Jules Verne aux premiers globetrotters", which will be held at the Château de Prangins, Swiss National Museum from 06 April 2025.
The 1870s saw the emergence of a new type of traveller: the globetrotter, like Phileas Fogg. Criss-crossed by an increasingly dense network of railways, steamers and telegraphs, the globe became a playground for tourists eager to tour it. For the first time, people were touring the world for pleasure. They were made possible by technological advances, characterised by the triumph of steam power, and by a geopolitical situation largely favourable to the West, marked by the stamp of imperialism and colonisation.

Exhibition curator and scientific director

• Jean-François Staszak (Unige)
• Raphaël Pieroni (HEAD-Genève).

The exhibition has given rise to the publication of a catalogue: La Manie des tours du monde. This collective work, illustrated with 256 images, tells the story of how, at the end of the 19th century, the West developed a passion for this form of tourism. At the crossroads of cultural geography, travel history and visual studies, the book recounts from a critical perspective
how the world became a tourist attraction and examines the imaginary world of globetrotters. La manie des tours du monde published by Liénart éditions, 248 pages and 256 illustrations, at the crossroads of cultural geography, travel history and visual studies.
Editors: Raphaël Pieroni (HEAD - Geneva) and Jean-François Staszak (Unige).

Last but not least, an international conference entitled "Tours du monde et globetrotters: acteurs, pratiques et imaginaires" will be held from 11 to 13 June 2025, in partnership with Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, UC Berkeley, Université de Genève and HEAD - Geneva.