Jules Verne is one of the most beloved authors in world literature. His works have inspired writers, artists and scientists alike.

But where did his creative imagination come from? What made him one of the most influential writers of modern popular culture? Who exactly was Jules Verne?

This exhibition invites visitors on an immersive journey through the life and work of an author who enriched the imagination of millions of readers around the world.

Front cover of L'Éclipse magazine N°320 (1874), André Gill — Musée Carnavalet.

From the Riverbank

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes. Before the age of ten, he convinced his younger brother Paul to borrow a small boat tied to the dock on the Loire River. They did not get far, but the adventure marked the beginning of a lifelong dream: travelling the oceans like the heroes of adventure novels.

Little Jules was a fearless and curious child. The eldest of five siblings, he grew up in a bourgeois family in the port city of Nantes. During the turbulent political and social transformations of 19th-century France, Nantes — with its busy commercial port and emerging industry — became the backdrop for his first adventures.

According to Verne himself, three passions shaped his childhood:

• The walks along the Loire River
• His first attempts at writing poetry
• The Indret naval factory, where he spent hours fascinated by the machinery

Later came Paris, with its theatres and literary circles. Though his father forced him to study Law, Verne increasingly devoted himself to his true passions: Geography, Engineering, and Writing.

Shared Passions — Nadar

Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known as Nadar, was one of Verne's closest friends. Artist, photographer and illustrator, he became the first person to photograph Paris from the sky, using a balloon. Both men were members of the Scientific Press Club, where they discussed scientific discoveries and technological progress.

A particularly fascinating debate of the time concerned the future of aerial navigation. Two opposing theories existed:

The Dumas

At the age of 21, Jules Verne met Alexandre Dumas and his son Alexandre Dumas fils. At the time, Verne lived in a small Parisian apartment and struggled financially while writing plays. The Dumas family strongly encouraged him. Dumas fils introduced Verne to literary circles; Dumas père helped him obtain work in theatre. Together they wrote two plays:

• Broken Straws
• Eleven Days of Siege

These early theatrical works helped Verne begin his literary career.

While Others Sleep — A Typical Day in Verne's House

Every day began the same way. At 5:00 AM, Jules Verne woke up, dressed, and entered a small office located in a tower of his house. From his desk he could see a window and a large map, where he traced both his travels and those of his fictional characters. He wrote continuously until 11:00 AM.

Then he left his office and entered a room filled with books from floor to ceiling — among them works by Maupassant, Balzac, Walter Scott, Victor Hugo, and Charles Dickens. He also carefully maintained a massive archive of more than 20,000 technical notes collected throughout his life.

In the afternoon he visited the scientific and technical library of the Amiens Industrial Society, where he studied the latest scientific publications. At 8:00 PM, he went to bed. The routine began again the next morning.

Journey to the Centre of Jules Verne — The Life of Jules Verne

Although the characters in Verne's novels travelled across the globe, his own life unfolded primarily in three French cities.

The Background

The Extraordinary Journeys collection contains more than 60 adventure novels. The publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel envisioned the series as a way to popularise science through adventure. Yet Verne's work goes far beyond simple educational literature. His stories combine scientific knowledge, technological imagination, human adventure, and poetic vision. His heroes are courageous yet human, and his machines — submarines, balloons, flying machines — become characters themselves.

The Form

Behind the success of the collection stood Pierre-Jules Hetzel, Verne's publisher and editor. Hetzel reviewed each manuscript carefully, suggested changes, and shaped the editorial strategy. Most novels were first published as serials in the magazine Magasin d'Éducation et de Récréation. Later they were released as books and finally as luxury Christmas editions, famous for their red and gold covers.

Science Fiction or Scientific Fiction?

Today, Jules Verne and H. G. Wells are often called the fathers of science fiction. However, Verne's approach differed greatly. Unlike Wells, Verne did not imagine dystopian futures. Instead, his novels were based on real scientific knowledge and technological trends of his time. His machines — submarines, diving suits, helicopters — were not pure fantasy but extensions of existing scientific ideas.

The Future in the Past

Verne wrote only one true futuristic novel: Paris in the Twentieth Century. His publisher Hetzel rejected it because it was too pessimistic. The novel described a future dominated by finance and technology where art and poetry had lost their place. The manuscript remained unpublished for over 130 years until it was finally released in 1994, becoming an international bestseller almost immediately.

The novels of the Extraordinary Journeys transported readers to distant lands few had ever seen.

In this immersive installation, visitors travel through these worlds using a digital planisphere, discovering the places where Verne's novels unfold, the stories that take place there, and their influence on later cultural works.

Featured Works

Among the iconic machines imagined by Verne — vessels that became characters in their own right, as alive and complex as any human hero.

This installation explores Verne's universe through AI-generated imagery.

The original editions of the Extraordinary Journeys contained more than 4,000 engravings. Inspired by this visual richness, contemporary artists reinterpret Verne's imaginary worlds using artificial intelligence and generative imagery.

The project explores questions such as:

• What are the limits of technology?
• Does progress always mean faster and more efficient?
• What might we lose as we gain speed?

Meta Verne is a free-roam virtual reality experience lasting 10 minutes. Visitors travel through the worlds of Verne's novels, no longer as readers but as protagonists.

If you feel dizziness, disorientation, or experience a technical malfunction — raise your hand and a room attendant will assist you.

Jules Verne's influence extends far beyond literature.

His novels inspired many scientific pioneers of the 20th century:

The command module of Apollo 11 was named Columbia, inspired by the projectile launched to the Moon in Verne's novel. In 1961, a lunar crater 143 km wide was named Jules Verne in his honour.