A journey around the world through French most iconic transportation mediums. 

This exhibition finds its origin in the literary imaginary of the French author Jules Verne. Through its Extraordinary Voyages collection made up of 62 novels and 18 short-stories, among which the celebrated Around the world in Eighty Days, Jules Verne predicted some of the greatest technical innovations of the following centuries. Inspired by his astonishingly modern work, Alliance Française invites you to discover all the French innovations that have revolutionized the way we travel. Take up Phileas Fogg’s challenge to travel around the world by the TGV, on the France or in the A380.

The journey starts at the entrance of the Gallery where you will get your boarding pass. Before embarking, make a stop at the Bureau d’Itinéraires, where the French company Michelin will propose you the best travel plan to follow! On the wall outside of the gallery, take note of your world tour itinerary from Singapore to Singapore. 

Our Gallery turned into four different rooms.

Once your route is planned, start exploring our gallery turned for the occasion into four different rooms on land, by the sea, in the air and in the space. In each room, go through the most iconic modes of transportation, from the record-breaking ones to those that will allow to better preserve our planet.

Start your journey with the room dedicated to land and browse among French innovations. Did you know that the very first car was created by a French inventor? Or that the TGV – Train à Grande Vitesse - the French high-speed train, was the holder of the world speed record with a speed measured at 574,8km/hour, still never surpassed today? Learn more about France’s key role in the development of transportation industries – train, metro, car, bike - and its exportation overseas. Indeed, have you ever wondered who were the suppliers of the Singaporean MRT? The French builder Alstom is one of them! With 332 trains on the network, Alstom entirely covers two MRT lines. As soon as you use the Circle and North-East lines, you travel in a French train!

In the space dedicated to the sea, embark in the SS France. Launched in 1962, the France liner was able to welcome 2000 passengers for 5 days crossings between Le Havre and New York. This emblematic liner embodied the golden age of the transatlantic steamers.

From the first flight with a human aboard organized in a hot-air balloon by les Frères Montgolfier to the Concorde, the first supersonic airliner which linked Paris to New York in 3h30 hours, immerse into France’s decisive contribution to air travelling in our third room.

Finally, end your journey in the space and step into Thomas Pesquet’s shoes! Put a VR headset on, join the French astronaut in the space and take control of the International Space Station.

A highly engaging and interactive exhibition.

With the Virtual Reality, Around the World offers you a unique opportunity to travel into the International Space Station through an immersive report. You can also enjoy an audioguide both in French and English. Scan the QR Code un each room of the exhibition and let yourself be carried away by new anecdotes and facts about France's contribution to travel. The audioguide is available here. 

Before leaving, do not forget to participate to our game and stand a chance to win a return ticket from Singapore to Paris on Air France! Try to guess the four-digit number on your boarding pass: each number corresponds to a key element given in each room of the exhibition. The final date corresponds to the year of creation of Alliance Française in Paris and the year of publication of one of the major novels of Jules Verne. Good luck!

A launching cocktail with our partners.

Alliance Française de Singapour was delighted to launch this exhibition on Thursday 27 April 2023 in presence of all the partners of the exhibition, including Her Excellency Minh-Ti Dang, Ambassador of France to Singapore. Around a glass of champagne and some fingerfood, our guests enjoyed a guided tour of the exhibition to celebrate France’s contribution to travel and look back on French emblematic industrial achievements in the field of transportation.

We would like to thank all our partners who have made this exhibition possible and invite you to come visit us at La Galerie (level 2, 1 Sarkies Road) until 15 July!