Around the World in Eighty Days
Although it's really focused on the mechanics of getting around the world, RTW in 80 Days has more character development than some other Verne books and a few surprising plot twists. The manservant Passepartout evolves a lot during the journey and Phileas Fogg himself behaves in a more and more surprising manner. The 'exotic' adventures are about what you would expect, but the jigsaw puzzle of transportation links in the 19th century remains fascinating today.
