The Prix Versailles architecture award is casting airports as attractions in their own right.
Airports are strange and liminal places. Endless epoxy floors. Yawning atriums that seem to swallow you up. And always with a perpetually distorted sense of time. When you’re travelling abroad, the aesthetics of the terminal you’re transiting through are probably the furthest thing from your mind. But the Prix Versailles, a prestigious architecture award presented in conjunction with UNESCO, is casting airport spaces in a new light with its World’s Most Beautiful Airports List 2025. As the Prix Versailles puts it, this prize category is about honouring beauty in everyday spaces.
“The mark left by airports stems chiefly from their ever-growing role in international exchanges," says Secretary General of the Prix Versailles, Jérôme Gouadain. “But [these facilities] can also be seen as works of art, or at least as things of beauty." Below, we break down the ‘laureate’ airports that have been named the most beautiful in the world.
Yantai Penglai International Airport (Terminal 2)
Yantai, China
Yantai, a port city in China’s Shandong province, unveiled its new 167,000-square-metre terminal in June 2024. Inspired by the nearby Kunyu Mountain, the terminal’s sweeping roofline mirrors the region’s undulating landscape, evoking a sense of flow and ease. A soft, foamy colour palette and fluid interior curves nod to the city’s coastal character, within a show-stopping diamond-scored dome crowning the atrium. Designed with both form and function in mind, the E-shaped layout optimises passenger movement while minimising disruption to the surrounding terrain.
Marseille Provence Airport (Terminal 1)
Marignane, France
Marseille Provence Airport is all glass and natural light, with its 22-metre windowed hall constructed from 70 per cent recycled steel. The minimalist architecture defers to the setting, framing views of the Provençal hinterland on one side and a shimmering maritime lagoon on the other. The airport in the south of France got a recent refresh, with a 22,000-square-metre extension designed by Foster + Partners.
Roland Garros Airport (Arrivals Terminal)
Réunion Island, France
Reunion Island is considered a tropical paradise by many. However, the island is subject to increasingly intense weather patterns, which necessitated a smart and sturdy design. The answer came in building a central ‘canyon’ that acts as a thermal chimney, enabling natural ventilation. This was delivered by the firm AIA Life Designers, which mostly worked with local businesses to achieve this blend of function and form.
Kansai International Airport (Terminal 1)
Osaka, Japan
Kansai Airport is already a design icon, known for its location on an artificial island and for being the longest airport terminal in the world. A recent 25 per cent expansion has further elevated its appeal, introducing a palette of natural materials that lend the space a distinctly Japanese sensibility.
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Portland International Airport (Main Terminal)
Portland, United States
If you didn’t know that Oregon was famed for its forests, then Portland International Airport makes that immediately clear; its statement mass timber roof extends over more than 36,000 square metres. The materials employed were sourced from local industry within a 500-kilometre radius of the airport. Designed by architecture firm ZGF, Portland Airport was inspired by walks in the forest, resulting in a calming, immersive experience for travellers.
San Francisco International Airport (Terminal 1)
San Francisco, United States
San Francisco has always been a destination for the creative and innovative. Perhaps that’s why San Francisco is the first airport in the world to have an accredited museum inside, with the SFO Museum providing robust exhibitions and artworks for the viewing pleasure of those in transit. Terminal 1 is a tribute to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, who was a trailblazer in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
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