Travel can often be a chaotic and exhausting experience, with airports notorious for their crowds and lack of comfort. But not all airports are the same. Some have transformed the travel experience, offering relaxing outdoor lounges, parks, and even pools, making your wait between flights a more pleasant one. Here are 13 of the best airports around the world that stand out for their outdoor spaces, making them exceptions to the usual airport ordeal:
1. Singapore Changi Airport (SIN)
Changi has long been a favorite, offering an impressive array of attractions, including the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, a sport-climbing facility, a rooftop swimming pool, and multiple gardens. Its Butterfly Garden in Terminal 3 is a serene spot with over 1,000 butterflies, while the Sunflower and Cactus Gardens offer a more vibrant outdoor feel.
Notable Features: Indoor forest, rooftop pool, multiple themed gardens.
2. Denver International Airport (DEN)
Denver’s outdoor offerings are before you even enter the terminal, with the Park on the Plaza featuring cornhole games, benches, and a seasonal ice rink. Once inside, you can enjoy outdoor lounges with seating and fire pits at various gates.
Notable Features: Outdoor ice rink, rooftop lounges, events like live music.
3. Zurich Airport (ZRH)
Zurich has an executive lounge with an outdoor terrace offering mountain views. For a more immersive nature experience, head to Der Park Flughafen Zürich, a 20-acre park with forested walking paths, a hilltop view, and a cable car to whisk you into the greenery.
Notable Features: Outdoor terrace with mountain views, 20-acre park with walking paths.
4. Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
YVR offers an urban shoreline-inspired park, Chester Johnson Park, complete with driftwood benches and native trees. The airport also boasts a 47-foot-high open-air atrium in the international terminal, showcasing British Columbia’s natural beauty with hemlock trees and digital light projections.
Notable Features: Green Wall, open-air atrium, shoreline park.
5. Incheon International Airport (ICN)
Incheon’s main terminal has a conservatory-like seating area with bamboo, ferns, and flowers. While technically indoors, the space feels outdoors thanks to the translucent roof. The airport plans to add an outdoor garden terrace in the future for more fresh air.
Notable Features: Indoor gardens with natural lighting, upcoming outdoor terrace.
6. Long Beach Airport (LGB)
LGB features a peaceful 4,200-square-foot courtyard with tall palm trees and a drought-tolerant garden. It’s a quiet oasis with local dining options, providing a refreshing alternative to larger, more hectic airports.
Notable Features: Palm tree courtyard, local dining options.
7. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
While LAX is undergoing a massive overhaul, the airport already offers private lounges with outdoor terraces, including the Star Alliance Lounge and Delta One Lounge, both featuring landscaped patios and views of the Hollywood Hills.
Notable Features: Lounges with outdoor terraces, views of the Hollywood Hills.
8. Hamad International Airport (DOH)
Hamad’s indoor tropical garden, The Orchard, spans 64,000 square feet beneath a glass roof, offering a lush, forest-like environment. With over 25,000 plants and 300 trees, it’s one of the largest and most stunning indoor gardens at an airport.
Notable Features: Indoor tropical garden with waterfalls, massive plant installations.
9. Munich International Airport (MUC)
Munich is known for its Airbräu beer garden, the first brewery in an airport, offering both an indoor tavern and an outdoor patio. Additionally, visitors can explore the Visitor’s Park, an outdoor space with trails, grass lawns, and a hilltop view.
Notable Features: Beer garden, visitor park, and surf park nearby.
10. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
AUS features the Chase Sapphire Lounge, which boasts an outdoor terrace with seating overlooking the tarmac and Hill Country. More outdoor spaces are also being developed as part of the airport’s expansion.
Notable Features: Outdoor terrace with views of Hill Country.
11. San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
SFO offers a free outdoor terrace in the international terminal, ideal for plane-watching, along with the SkyTerrace atop Terminal 2, where visitors can enjoy views of large aircraft and the city skyline.
Notable Features: SkyTerrace, outdoor terrace with views of the airfield.
12. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
ATL offers a quiet outdoor deck in the Delta Sky Club in Concourse F, perfect for club members to relax with a free bar and seating. Other outdoor spaces are being added as part of the airport’s ongoing improvements.
Notable Features: Sky Club outdoor deck, free bar for members.
13. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
JFK’s T5 Rooftop offers a 4,000-square-foot post-security lounge with green spaces, seating, and even a dog-walk area. It provides stunning views of the Manhattan skyline and the iconic TWA terminal.
Notable Features: Rooftop lounge, dog-walk area, views of Manhattan.
These airports are pushing the boundaries of the traditional airport experience, creating spaces that allow travelers to relax and unwind with fresh air, greenery, and even the chance to swim or have a cold beer. Whether you’re passing through or have a long layover, these airports provide a much-needed respite from the usual airport stress.
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