Vancouver

How to stay entertained at some northwest airports

I’m working on an article about the great amenities at some west coast airports and wanted to share some of my favorites:

Vancouver International Airport:  I love this incredible work of art by Bill Reid, titled  The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe, that’s impossible to miss in the center of the International Terminal.

Vancouver Jade Canoe

(Photo: Larry Goldstein Photography)

And I can’t wait to make my way back to YVR to see the recently opened public observation area that includes complimentary telescopes so everyone can get a good look at the airfield activity and the landscape nearby.

I’m happy that Sea-Tac International Airport has a world-class art collection and, on clear days, bonus views of mountains.

SEA RAINIER(Photo: Port of Seattle)

I can’t wait for the new light rail train, which right now stops just shy of the airport, to make it’s way to the airport door.

pdx center

(Photo courtesy Port of Portland)

As usual, though, it’s the amenities at the Portland International Airport that impress me most.  When I used to live in that city, there was free parking at the airport and we’d go out there at least once a week because the city’s only Haagen-Dazs ice-cream store was out at the airport.

Today, I plan layovers at PDX because there’s free Wi-Fi,  lots of good restaurants and pubs, fun permanent artwork, and a pre-security shopping street filled with branches of  locally well-known shops where no sales tax is charged on anything.

Do you have an airport that you actually look forward to visiting? Please share your finds in the comment section below.