The 10 strangest things you can do at an airport
Airports are like shopping malls or amusement parks, and the passenger must be won over (and spend)
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You're in the waiting room at the dentist's office and while you're waiting your turn, you're flipping through a magazine on gardening, or, more pleasantly, you're by the pool relaxing and spending your hole hour while sipping a cool, thirst-quenching Caipiroska--only you're not on vacation or at your doctor's office, you're at the airport!
Well yes, in many international airports, besides the usual Gate waiting rooms and Duty Free scents, there is much more! Munich, Dubai, Singapore and many others provide passengers with a range of curious pastimes And services to beguile the hours Between stopovers.
What are you waiting for? Let's find out together!
#1 Specialist Visits
You are at Monaco of Bavaria, you decided to dine light and so you order a pork knuckle with sauerkraut, only something goes wrong--you accidentally bite off a piece of bone and now your molar hurts like hell! What to do? No problem, at Munich Airport in Germany there is a Dental office complete with laboratory.
Doctors in the practice offer passengers comprehensive dental services, such as preventive dentistry, cosmetics and even dental implants. What can I say, going to the dentist is always an ordeal--but at least you take comfort in knowing that a few hours later you'll be in vacation.
He thinks that at Keflavik Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland, you can also get measuring eyesight. With a professional practice, opticians promise "efficiency and quick service" with optical measurements and eyeglasses ready to use in 15 minutes. If you like high fashion, the firm also has a good number of high-end brands, such as Gucci and Oakley.
#2 Relaxation and Fun at the Pool
You're going on a beach vacation, the layover is long, you're bored out of your mind, and you can't wait to take a dip and cool off properly. Why wait? If you already have your swimsuit in your suitcase, you just have to jump in... in the pool!
In the Aerotel Airport Transit in Singapore Changi there is a rooftop pool with breathtaking views complete with a pool whirlpool, equipped showers, and a poolside bar that will allow you to relax while you wait for the next flight.
If you love the long swims and you're not content with a small pool to relax in, Hamad International Airport in Doha even has a 25-meter Olympic-size swimming pool temperature controlled! In addition, of course, to a fully equipped gymnasium, two squash courts and, inside the Fitness Vitality of the hotel, a wellness center equipped with a hydrotherapy pool.
If you want complete relaxation instead, all you have to do is stopover at the Dubai International where, in Terminal 3, is the Dubai International Airport Hotel's Health Club: swimming pool with separate showers and saunas for men and women, spa with massage services and a well-equipped gym for those who like to keep fit even in airport!
Finally, if you really are a born sportsman and love the waves of the sea, Munich International in Munich has featured, since 2012, a annual Surf & Style championship, during which surfers, from all over the world, compete in a pool at 10-meter mechanical waves.
During the competitions, even ordinary passengers can join in and experience the thrill of surfing at an airport by renting equipment for FREE thanks to the sponsor (Lufthansa over all).
#3 Golf
Airports, you know, have no shortage of space. In international ones, hundreds of aircraft land and take off at all hours of the day and night, needing a huge area to move around. What if this space also had room for a golf course?
At the Seoul Incheon in South Korea, the Sky 72 Golf Club provides a service shuttle free of charge that allows passengers who wish to do so to travel from the airport to the adjacent golf course, which is only 5 minutes. Visitors have the opportunity to play 9 or 18 holes, depending on the time they have between stopovers.
The PGA MSP Lounge at St. Paul Airport in Minneapolis offers a small indoor golf course where you can practice your Swing. It is not a complete course like the one in Seoul, however, owners of Priority Pass can enjoy an original and fun pastime for free while they wait for their next flight.
#4 Wedding
Usually when a newlywed couple is at the airport, the reason is very simple: they are about to leave for their romantic Honeymoon... what if I told you instead. you can do one and the other?
The Frankfurt International Airport in Germany provides an "all inclusive" wedding package, which includes:
- The engagement of a Wedding Planner for the organization
- A photographer Professional for unforgettable shots
- La cake nuptial
- The reception For 15 guests at a 5-star airport hotel.
- One night in a suite For the newly married couple
All for the modest sum of... 1.500€! By far much cheaper than a standard wedding, give it some thought, no?
If, on the other hand, you want an out-of-the-box wedding, at the Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden, in addition to catering, photographers, private salons and ceremony among rivers of Champange celebrated by priests of the Church of Sweden, there is the possibility of Getting married even inside the Watchtower!
#5 Art Gallery and Museums
In our list of the strangest things you can do at an airport there is not only relaxation, luxury and fun, there is also room for the culture and entertainment.
Inside Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London, we find the T5 Gallery, one of the very few permanent commercial art galleries inside an airport. Awarded at the Corporate Art Awards in 2018, the gallery is filled with works of contemporary and modern art, both in pictorial form and sculpture and art installations.
Not too far away, at theAmsterdam Schipol Airport in Holland, on the second floor, you can visit a small collection of works from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The museum, completely free to all travelers and permanent, includes a dozen works by the famous masters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Helsinki Airport in Finland, on the other hand, does not have a specific place where the works are displayed; rather, they are scattered all around the airport. Inside it houses photography and contemporary art exhibitions, as well as having a gallery dedicated to design.
#6 Ice Skating
In the period Christmas, with the snow coming down in flakes and Christmas markets, the one thing that can never be missed in big cities is ice skating rinks. But Why limit ourselves to cities?
Copyright Flughafen München GmbH
That's what they thought at the airport in Munich, where each year, in addition to the festive Christmas markets, travelers can enjoy a skate relaxing between gates. You can rent skates and a helmet, and you're ready to ice skating To beguile half an hour of time while waiting for your flight.
At Seoul Incheon, however, The Ice Forest Skating Rink (pictured) is open all year round, for the small fee of 5€ you can rent skates, gloves and helmet, from 10 am to 8 pm.
#7 Aquarium
If you are passionate about nature and the marine world, the Vancouver International Airport in Canada provides its travelers with the Marine Exhibit, or two marine exhibitions that are a "spin-off" of the city's main aquarium.
The former has a volume of well 114,000 liters and hosts more than 20,000 species of marine plants and animals, some of them very rare. In the second, smaller (1,800 liters), there is instead a heterogeneous variety of jellyfish.
All species of fish, jellyfish, plants and crustaceans are native to the British Columbia area.
#8 Casino and Slot Machines
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." How many times have we heard this phrase in famous movies filmed in the American boomtown: Las Vegas. A city where messes rule the day, you don't get out of the airport in time to get lost among the Slot Machines.
Even before leaving the McCarran International Airport, in fact, you can play with one of the Slots scattered among the Gates. Whether you are just arrived and want to jump right into the gambling experience or whether you are leaving town and want to pull that crank for the last time, in Las Vegas anything is possible!
But if you think that only in Las Vegas can you find a mess inside an airport, you are dead wrong. In addition to the States (Nevada and Pennsylvania), two international airports in Europe also have their own indoor casinos, Which ones?
- Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam: you can find Bingo, Roulette and Poker rooms where you can entertain yourself while waiting for boarding.
- Heathrow Airport, London: In addition to the physical Slot Machines scattered around the airport, there are a few spots where you can play legally online, plus all winnings are TaxFree!
#9 Cinema
In our list of the 10 weirdest things you can do at the airport, we could not miss the ultimate entertainment: the Cinema.
In Oregon, in Portland International Airport, opened a small cinema of 17 places completely free for travelers, in collaboration with Oregon filmmakers who provided their short films For this project.
Similar cinemas can also be found in Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Minneapolis, where theaters make films and short films available 24/7 for entertain passenger audience between stopovers.
#10 Rest.
What if you, shattered by an interminable stopover, affected by a Jet Lag That confused you, you simply wanted to rest yourself o sleep one or two hours? No problem, NapCabs exist.
In Germany, at airports in Munich and Berlin, there are small soundproof capsules, equipped with comfortable chairs or beds, where you can relax, work or take a nap in peace of mind. Prices start from 10€ per hour and Internet connection is included in the price.
They also thought about it at Dubai which, with its Snooze Cube, offers a comfortable space where rest and deposit their luggage. The capsules are equipped with speakers that broadcast relaxing music To facilitate rest, prices start from 15$ the hour.
We have therefore come to the end of our list.... or maybe not?
For you who are a loyal reader of ours, we have in store a small bonus I hope you like it.
Le 10 + 1 Stranger things you can do in an Airport
#11 The Butterfly Garden
One of a kind, the Butterfly Garden of Changi International Airport in Singapore is the World's first butterfly garden inside an airport.
This tropical garden is home to over 1,000 butterflies from 40 species different, as well as a multitude of flowering plants, vegetation curated and a waterfall of 6 meters, ideal for entertaining young and old in an atmosphere relaxing and natural.
In a dedicated display case are the caterpillars waiting to transform, around a lush habitat Ideal for delicate butterflies flying between flowers.
Conclusion
This time we have come to the very end. As you have seen, airports are not just a stopover between cities, but also of fun and relax, where travel and entertainment form a perfect match for the expected Between stopovers.
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