8. Changi Airport in Singapore
Place: Singapore
Completed Cost: $1.7 Billion*; Year Completed: 1981
It is difficult to think that anyone could have predicted that Singapore Changi Airport would one day become the benchmark for the best airport experience when construction first started back in 1975. Changi Airport began accepting passengers in 1981 and has continued to grow, earning the title of the finest airport in the world for eight years running.
Changi Airport in Singapore Copyright N. Sakarin/Shutterstock
Three of the airport’s four operational terminals—terminal 5 is now under construction—connect to the “Jewel Changi,” Changi’s most popular attraction.
There are more than three hundred shops and restaurants within, a rooftop pool, an orchid and butterfly garden, and The Rain Vortex—the tallest indoor waterfall in the world—all located within the building. Rainwater that is fed via a 130-foot-high hole in the roof recirculates to generate the rain vortex.
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