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The 11 most outrageous airport interiors in the world

BY: SKYSCANNER FROM: NEWS.COM.AU 13 HOURS AGODECEMBER 10, 2013 8:06AM

Chicago O'Hare Airport. Picture: Maltman23, Flickr Source: Supplied

MASSIVE, beautiful, weird, wonderful, futuristic and fun. Here are some of the world's best - and the downright craziest - airport interiors, according to travel website Sk yscanner.com.au . 1. Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok, Thailand Ancient meets modern minimalism in the main concourse of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, designed by Helmut Jahn. Suvarnabhumi - "the airport of smiles" - has the proud claim to fame of the world's tallest freestanding control tower (123 metres if you were wondering).

Suv arnabhumi, Bangkok. Picture: Ztij0, Flickr Source: Supplied

2. Beijing Capital International, China Beijing's Terminal 3, built in time to cope with the extra millions of passengers coming for the 2008 Olympic Games, is the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 (more of that later).

Beijing Airport. Picture: Simon.Brunozzi, Flickr Source: Supplied

3. Chicago O'Hare, US Moving walkways are cool, but colourful moving walkways, like this one in Chicago, are cooler. Along with going on the monorail back and forth between terminals, jumping off the end of "travelators", as they're sometimes called, is one of the most fun ways to spend your time at an airport.

Chicago OHare. Picture: Pf ala, Flickr Source: Supplied

4. Singapore Changi The departure lounge at Singapore's Changi airport looks like it was modelled on an imaginary retro-futuristic fast food outlet. Or Universal Studios. Or maybe a flying saucer landed on the first floor food court? Check out the matching floor and ceiling too.

Changi Airport. Picture: Trav elOurPlanet.com, Flickr Source: Supplied

Changi Airport. Picture: Kobetsai, Flickr Source: Supplied

5. Dubai International, UAE Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport is, you guessed it, the single largest building in the world by floor space. It's Dubai, what do you expect, small and subtle?

Dubai Airport. Picture: Augapf el, Flickr Source: Supplied

6. Lyon St. Exupery, France If you arrive at Lyon's St. Exupry Airport by TGV or the Rhne Express from the city centre, it's a long walk to check-in, especially if you're laden down with bags and you're leaving from Terminal 3. But do look up to appreciate the architecture

Ly on St. Exupery Airport. Picture: Exupery Bob, Flickr Source: Supplied

Ly on St. Exupery Airport. Picture: Exupery Bob, Flickr Source: Supplied

7. Madrid - Barajas, Spain If you can get over the sensation that you are under attack from a swarm of alien jellyfish, and that you have landed in Madrid in 1968, appreciate the wonder of the arrival hall at Barajas, which looks like an unused set from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Madrid Airport. Picture: Dav idDennisPhotos.com, Flickr Source: Supplied

8. Munich, Germany Horizontalators don't come much more D.I.S.C.O. than this example at Munich Airport. They really should pump out Stayin' Alive. You'll catch Saturday night fever even if it's Monday morning.

Munich Airport. Picture: Pterjan, Flickr Source: Supplied

9. Charles de Gaulle, Paris If, like the author, you missed your flight home from Paris because you were toasting your engagement with a bottle of champers on a bench outside Charles de Gaulle, then spent five hours drinking gin, slumped staring at the ceiling, this view will be familiar.

Charles de Gaulle. Picture: Thombo2, Flickr Source: Supplied

10. Shanghai Pudong, China Asia boasts some of the world's most architecturally-exciting airports, and Shanghai Pudong International is no exception. The exterior of Terminal 1 is shaped like waves, while arrival by escalator feels like an ascent into a sci-fi flick version of heaven.

Shanghai Pudong Airport. Picture: Kent Wang, Flickr Source: Supplied

11. Ronald Reagan Washington National, US There's no mistaking which country you're in, however jet-lagged you're feeling. The Reagan's classical style, redolent of tearful goodbyes in a 1920s railway station, eschewts the futurism of most major international airports.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Picture: Elv ert Barnes, Flickr Source: Supplied

Read more travel news at Sk yscanner.com.au.

SOURCE: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/the-11-most-outrageous-airport-interiors-in-the-world/story-fn6yjmoc-1226779414323