Five Amazing Airports Located Around the World

In most cases, airports are places of frustration, boredom, and time-wasting, filled with endless delays, layovers, and lines.

But in some instances, airports can be a brilliant showcase of incredible architecture and creativity, that make traveling just a little bit better. From modern, cool designs, to unique offerings inside the building, and incredible architectural feats, here are five amazing airports around the world.

1.) Changi Airport

If you walked into Changi Airport and weren’t told that you were in an airport, you may think you were in the middle of a jungle. Changi Airport is located in Singapore and has been named the World’s Best Airport many times. Lining the walls are lucious, beautiful plants and flowers, and an incredible waterfall cascades from a crystal funnel in the ceiling of the airport. Millions of people fly through Changi Airport, but many also come to the airport when they aren’t flying; they come to hang out with friends, explore the architectural masterpiece, or even get married. Beautiful, luxurious, and utterly unique, Changi Airport makes the top of every list of incredible airports.

2.) Dubai International Airport

Everything about Dubai is an incredible-the city in the United Arab Emirates is typically always associated with wealth, luxury, and incredible architecture, and its airport is no exception. The airport is huge-it is five times the size of O’Hare International Airport and spans a whopping 7,200 acres. While traveling through this airport, you can take advantage of all the amazing things it offers, including spa treatments, movies in virtual reality, trampoline parks, zen gardens, swimming pools, and gymnasiums. By the time you experience everything in Dubai International Airport, you may not even want to leave to get to your final destination!

3.) Schiphol Airport

Schiphol Airport is located in Amsterdam and is the main airport of the Netherlands. It has many stores for shopping, eating, and relaxation, and even a museum you can visit while waiting for your flight. The museum was the first to ever be added to an airport and showcases beautiful paintings from Dutch history. Schiphol Airport also has lounges and spas that offer manicures, pedicures, and massages, as well as a library in the airport, a park, and even a casino. Schiphol Airport has become one of the largest, busiest airports in Europe, and with all of these attractions, it isn’t hard to see why.

4.) Madeira Airport

Madeira Airport, also known as Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is located in Santa Cruz, Portugal. It was once a very small airport that didn’t see a lot of activity, but is now the fourth busiest airport in Portugal, and grew in a most unique way. Because the airport was originally built on the edge of an island, to expand, the airport had to be built into the ocean, becoming an island supported by huge columns. Madeira Airport is considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world because of this balancing act, and pilots that fly into the airport must have special training on how to land. With its location right on the water and its stunning columns, Madeira Airport is definitely set apart from the rest.

5.) Carrasco International Airport

Carrasco International Airport is in Montevideo, Uruguay, the capital of the South American country. The airport has a modern design, sleek and grey, with a curved roof that covers the entire building. The glass windows underneath the curved roof let in plenty of natural light, and the entire building is meant to be a nod to airplanes, and the feat of aviation itself, while the low, gentle curve symbolizes the rolling hills found throughout Uruguay. Travelers and tourists that come through can’t help but marvel at the thoughtful architecture.

Airports typically aren’t places that people like to spend a lot of time in; they usually have somewhere much better they are trying to get to. But in some of these incredible airports around the world, you may never want to leave.