Skip to content

Top Navigation

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Trip Inspiration
  • Plan Your Trip
  • World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises
  • Travel Tips
  • News
  • Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Explore

    Explore

    • World's Best

      World's Best

      The greatest islands, cities, hotels, cruise lines, airports, and more — as voted by you. Read More
    • The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2021

      The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2021

      Whether you're traveling solo or planning a family vacation, here are the 50 best places to visit in 2021. Read More
    • Let's Go Together Podcast

      Let's Go Together Podcast

      Start listening to T+L's brand new podcast, Let's Go Together! Hosted by Kellee Edwards. Read More
  • Trip Inspiration

    Trip Inspiration

    • Trip Ideas
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Spring Travel
    • Summer Travel
    • Fall Travel
    • Winter Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Luxury Travel
    • Beach Vacations
    • Adventure Travel
    • Road Trips
    • Family Travel
    • National Parks
    • Holiday Travel
    • Travel Photography
    • Photo of the Day
    • Culture and Design
  • Plan Your Trip

    Plan Your Trip

    Norwegian Cruise Line Will Require Vaccinations for All Passengers and Crew

    Norwegian Cruise Line Will Require Vaccinations for All Passengers and Crew

    Norwegian Cruise Line hopes to resume sailing out of the U.S. on or around July 4.
    • Travel Deals
    • Attractions
    • BookTandL.com
    • Amusement Parks
    • Festivals and Events
    • Bus and Trains
    • Flight Deals
    • Budget Travel
    • Hotels and Resorts
    • Disney Vacations
    • Airlines and Airports
    • Ground Transportation
    • Travel Guides
  • World's Best

    World's Best

    • Top Hotels
    • Top Cities
    • Top Islands
    • Domestic Airlines
    • International Airlines
    • Tours
    • Safaris
    • See All World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises

    Cruises

    • Find A Cruise
    • Caribbean Cruises
    • River Cruises
    • European Cruises
    • All-Inclusive Cruises
    • Family Cruises
    • Alaskan Cruises
    • Disney Cruises
    • See All Cruise Vacations
  • Travel Tips

    Travel Tips

    • Travel Trends
    • Packing Tips
    • Points + Miles
    • Budgeting + Currency
    • Customs + Immigration
    • Responsible Travel
    • Travel Etiquette
    • Travel Warnings
    • Weather
    • Mobile Apps
    • See All Travel Tips
  • News

    News

    • Wellness
    • Celebrity Travel
    • Animals
    • Jobs
    • Offbeat
    • See All News
  • Food + Drink

    Food + Drink

    • Restaurants
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Bars + Clubs
    • Celebrity Chefs
    • Cooking + Entertaining
    • Food Fairs + Festivals
    • World's Best Restaurants
    • See All Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories

    Travel Accessories

    • Travel Bags
    • Shoes
    • Travel Tech
    • Shopping
    • Style
    • Gift Guides
    • See All Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE
  1. Home
  2. Airlines and Airports
  3. World's Strangest Airport Attractions

World's Strangest Airport Attractions

By Adrien Glover
November 03, 2009
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Courtesy of Changi Airport Group
En route to the Czech Republic her junior year of college, Rachal Royce was faced with five hours to kill at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport—not enough time to visit the city, but just enough to go a little crazy. Fueled by a few café au laits, she paced the corridors of Terminal 1 looking for something—anything—to keep her occupied until her flight. That’s when she stumbled across free Sony PlayStation kiosks and settled into a fierce multiplayer game of Hot Shots Tennis.

“I must have played 15 games with some guys in my group and dominated every single one, even the playoff,” says Royce. “The guys were furious, but I gained their respect. Two of them ended up being my best friends in Prague that semester. Finding the Sony PlayStations was a happy accident.”

Related: World’s Most-Visited Tourist Attractions

For so long, airport layovers have meant tucking into a Robert Ludlum novel or impulse shopping in duty free. No longer. Much to the delight—and relief—of travelers of all ages, new resources are cropping up to help fliers beat the layover blues, including Travel + Leisure’s new Navigator guides to 20 of the world’s top airports. Among a slew of new iPhone apps are handy interactive airport maps designed to assist fliers daunted by the sheer size and distance between terminals. There’s even a website dedicated to finding the best airport bar, complete with Top 10 lists, ratings, and reviews (“This place is like the beach but [it’s] at an airport…and with a strong Wi-Fi signal”).

“Much like the city that never sleeps, JFK airport remains open around the clock,” says a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey “Passengers taking off late on red-eyes can get massages at certain airport spa kiosks until midnight. We also have new computer-based welcome centers.”

Not surprisingly, it’s the unexpected services and attractions, big and small, that are generating the most airport buzz. Asia’s largest 4-D projection screen, for example, is not in the heart of Tokyo, Beijing, or Shanghai—it’s at the Hong Kong Airport. Curious fliers can not only enjoy the latest blockbuster, but they can even go inside the movie, thanks to 3-D glasses and extreme real-life special effects—wind, water, and murky foglike clouds. Other popular attractions are decidedly low-tech, not to mention unique to the country or city, like Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport’s “chewy” ice cream vendor, who roves Terminal 1 astounding travelers by stretching this Turkish treat like ribbons of taffy.

But it’s not all fun and food at airports these days; some industrious businesses are appealing to travelers who want to use their free time in smart, productive ways. At São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport in Brazil, fliers fearful of cavities, overdue for a visit to the dentist, or just looking to brighten their pearly whites for their arrival are in luck. Inside a spotless office, a small team of licensed dental professionals does everything from quick teeth cleanings and X-rays to whitening—and for a fraction of the cost in the U.S.

Even meditation rooms—which are popping up at airports around the world—can seem like novel attractions inside a humming terminal. Nature, too. Inside Singapore Changi International Airport, an enclosed tropical oasis teems with no fewer than 47 species of butterflies native to Singapore and Malaysia. Here, butterflies roam freely, alighting on hanging ferns and travelers’ shoulders. It’s hard to imagine a more unusual—or peaceful—place to wait for your boarding call.
Start Slideshow

1 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
HC Clinica Odontologica, Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport
Credit: iStock/Emre Ogan

From teeth cleaning to “4-D” movies, fliers are finding unusual ways to make the most of their layovers.

En route to the Czech Republic her junior year of college, Rachal Royce was faced with five hours to kill at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport—not enough time to visit the city, but just enough to go a little crazy. Fueled by a few café au laits, she paced the corridors of Terminal 1 looking for something—anything—to keep her occupied until her flight. That’s when she stumbled across free Sony PlayStation kiosks and settled into a fierce multiplayer game of Hot Shots Tennis.

“I must have played 15 games with some guys in my group and dominated every single one, even the playoff,” says Royce. “The guys were furious, but I gained their respect. Two of them ended up being my best friends in Prague that semester. Finding the Sony PlayStations was a happy accident.”

For so long, airport layovers have meant tucking into a Robert Ludlum novel or impulse shopping in duty free. No longer. Much to the delight—and relief—of travelers of all ages, new resources are cropping up to help fliers beat the layover blues, including Travel + Leisure’s new Navigator guides to 20 of the world’s top airports. Among a slew of new iPhone apps are handy interactive airport maps designed to assist fliers daunted by the sheer size and distance between terminals. There’s even a website dedicated to finding the best airport bar, complete with Top 10 lists, ratings, and reviews (“This place is like the beach but [it’s] at an airport…and with a strong Wi-Fi signal”).

  • Don't Miss: T+L’s smart guides to the world’s top airports

“Much like the city that never sleeps, JFK airport remains open around the clock,” says a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey “Passengers taking off late on red-eyes can get massages at certain airport spa kiosks until midnight. We also have new computer-based welcome centers.”

Not surprisingly, it’s the unexpected services and attractions, big and small, that are generating the most airport buzz. Asia’s largest 4-D projection screen, for example, is not in the heart of Tokyo, Beijing, or Shanghai—it’s at the Hong Kong Airport. Curious fliers can not only enjoy the latest blockbuster, but they can even go inside the movie, thanks to 3-D glasses and extreme real-life special effects—wind, water, and murky foglike clouds. Other popular attractions are decidedly low-tech, not to mention unique to the country or city, like Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport’s “chewy” ice cream vendor, who roves Terminal 1 astounding travelers by stretching this Turkish treat like ribbons of taffy.

But it’s not all fun and food at airports these days; some industrious businesses are appealing to travelers who want to use their free time in smart, productive ways. At São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport in Brazil, fliers fearful of cavities, overdue for a visit to the dentist, or just looking to brighten their pearly whites for their arrival are in luck. Inside a spotless office, a small team of licensed dental professionals does everything from quick teeth cleanings and X-rays to whitening—and for a fraction of the cost in the U.S.

Even meditation rooms—which are popping up at airports around the world—can seem like novel attractions inside a humming terminal. Nature, too. Inside Singapore Changi International Airport, an enclosed tropical oasis teems with no fewer than 47 species of butterflies native to Singapore and Malaysia. Here, butterflies roam freely, alighting on hanging ferns and travelers’ shoulders. It’s hard to imagine a more unusual—or peaceful—place to wait for your boarding call.

  • Don't Miss: T+L’s smart guides to the world’s top airports

1 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Win a Car—or a Million Dollars

Win a million dollars, Dubai International Airport
Credit: Martin Homik

Where: Dubai International Airport, Terminals 1 and 3, DDF Raffles kiosks

Details: Since 1988, the Finest Surprise raffle (tickets $139) has offered up an ever-changing selection of cars and motorbikes as prizes. Odds are one in 1,000 for the car series and one in 2,000 for the “special” car series. Recent cars include an Aston Martin DB9, Mercedes-Benz S500, and Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, all shipped to the winner free of charge. If you’re willing to part with $274 for a ticket, you can win $1 million in the newest raffle, Millennium Millionaire; odds are one in 5,000.

2 of 11

3 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Inhale Cinnamon-Scented Oxygen

Juko Oxygen Bar, Narita International Airport
Credit: Provided by Narita International Airport Corporation

Where: Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, Terminal 1, Oxygen Lounge Juko

Details: In this minimalist space, guests hook themselves up to self-serve tanks that pump exotically flavored oxygen, from eucalyptus menthol to cinnamon, into their lungs; choose from 10-minute (600 yen/$6) and 20-minute (1,200 yen/$12.50) sessions. The benefit? You decide—many claim increased oxygen eases headaches, induces alertness, and even reduces the effects of jet lag.

3 of 11

Advertisement

4 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Go to a Museum

Rijksmuseum (The Art of Flying exhibition), Schipol Airport
Credit: Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum/Melchior d'Hondecoeter

Where: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Ground Level, Rijksmuseum

Details: Amsterdam’s premier art and history museum, the Rijksmuseum, opened this airport annex in 2002, pioneering the world’s first airport museum. The permanent collection consists of 10 paintings by Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruisdael, and other Dutch masters. Temporary exhibitions throughout the year feature art borrowed from the city museum’s permanent collection, including works by Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Admission is free.

4 of 11

5 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Be Mesmerized by Fish

Vancouver aquarium
Credit: Jesse Gardner

Where: Vancouver International Airport, Levels 3 and 4, Vancouver Aquarium displays

Details: British Columbia’s vibrant native sea life is on display in two outposts of the Vancouver Aquarium. In the Departures area, a 30,000-gallon tank houses some 850 marine plants and animals—including rockfish, anemones, and sea stars; upstairs, a smaller cylindrical tank holds more than 100 undulating moon jellyfish.

5 of 11

6 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Experience a “4-D” Movie

4D Extreme Screen, Hong Kong International Airport
Credit: Ha Pak Wong

Where: Hong Kong International Airport, Terminal 2, 4D Extreme Screen

Details: Asia’s largest 4-D projection screen—a 360-seat theater where films come not only with 3-D glasses but also special effects such as wind, fog, water spray, and bubbles—happens to be in Hong Kong’s airport. Check the website for movie times for blockbusters such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

6 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Get Your Teeth Cleaned

HC Clinica Odontologica, Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport
Credit: iStock/Emre Ogan

Where: São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, Terminal 2, HC Clinica Odontológica

Details: If you’ve been putting off a visit to the dentist, this spotless dental office will clean your teeth, whiten, and take X-rays for a fraction of the U.S. price ($40–$60). The doc is in from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

7 of 11

8 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Kill Time on a Sony PlayStation 3

Playstation 3 Kiosks, Charles de Gaulle Airport
Credit: Shinzui

Where: Paris’s Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Terminals 1 and 2, Sony PlayStation kiosks

Details: Take time out to play on one of 73 free Sony PSP3s set up near departure gates throughout the terminals. Conceived with Sony for Aéroports de Paris, game stations have side panels for privacy, and stools let you sit for hours playing 20 of Sony’s best-selling demo games, like Burnout, Top Spin, and NBA.

8 of 11

9 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Taste “Chewy” Ice Cream

Chewy Ice Cream, Ataturk Airport
Credit: Margot Wolfs

Where: Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, International Terminal, roving cart

Details: Turkish ice cream is stickier and chewier than its Western counterpart—it stretches. The secret ingredient is salep, the ground tubers of wild orchids. Available in chocolate or vanilla, sold from a cart and twirled on long-handled paddles, this is a completely authentic Turkish ice cream experience: even the most discerning Turks give it two thumbs up.

9 of 11

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

See 6,000-Year-Old Artifacts

Archeology Exhibit, Heathrow Airport
Credit: Courtesy of Wessex Archeology

Where: London Heathrow Airport, Newall Road, Heathrow Academy

Details: During the recent construction of Terminal 5, a team of 80 archaeologists scoured approximately 250 acres around Heathrow—the U.K.’s largest single-site dig—and excavated more than 80,000 artifacts dating back to the Mesolithic Age (circa 6000 B.C.). Among the findings were a hand axe (circa 3000 B.C.) and the only wooden bowl that has ever been found from the Middle Bronze Age (circa 1500 B.C.–1100 B.C.). Stop in here—or at the Museum of London—to see what was unearthed.

10 of 11

11 of 11

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Admire Butterflies

Butterfly Garden, Changi Airport
Credit: Courtesy of Changi Airport Group

Where: Singapore Changi International Airport, Terminal 3, Butterfly Garden

Details: Stop along Changi’s Nature Trail for a breath of fresh air. This tropical garden near T3’s koi pond is home to 47 species of butterflies that roam free among hanging plants, including carnivorous pitcher plants, and palm trees; there’s even a waterfall. Don’t miss the butterfly breeding and feeding corners.

11 of 11

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Adrien Glover

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 11
    2 of 11 Win a Car—or a Million Dollars
    3 of 11 Inhale Cinnamon-Scented Oxygen
    4 of 11 Go to a Museum
    5 of 11 Be Mesmerized by Fish
    6 of 11 Experience a “4-D” Movie
    7 of 11 Get Your Teeth Cleaned
    8 of 11 Kill Time on a Sony PlayStation 3
    9 of 11 Taste “Chewy” Ice Cream
    10 of 11 See 6,000-Year-Old Artifacts
    11 of 11 Admire Butterflies

    Share options

    Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
    Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Sitemap
    • Travel Guide Sitemap

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletters
    Travel + Leisure Group
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
    • Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithTravel + Leisure is part of the Travel + Leisure Group. Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Travel + Leisure is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation Travel + Leisure Group All Rights Reserved, registered in the United States and other countries. Travel + Leisure may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.travelandleisure.com

    View image

    World's Strangest Airport Attractions
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.