The coolest McDonald’s in the world is the Taupo branch in New Zealand, where diners sit inside a real decommissioned DC-3 airliner. McDonald’s ran 45,356 restaurants in more than 100 countries at the end of 2025, and a handful of them are anything but standard. This is our 2026 top 10 of the most unusual ones.
Our ranking logic is simple. We score each restaurant on three things: how unusual the building or setting is, how much history is attached, and whether it is reported to be open. Places that have closed or been demolished no longer qualify for the main list, so a few of the original picks moved to a “check before you go” section below.
Coolest McDonald’s restaurants at a glance
| Rank | Location | What makes it special |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taupo, New Zealand | Dining area built into a decommissioned DC-3 plane |
| 2 | Porto, Portugal | Former Imperial Cafe with Art Deco glass and a bronze eagle |
| 3 | Freeport, Maine, USA | Housed in a historic colonial house |
| 4 | Hangzhou, China | Restaurant and cafe in a 1930s villa |
| 5 | Bray, Ireland | Inside the 1884 Tudor Revival town hall |
| 6 | Downey, California, USA | Oldest surviving McDonald’s, from 1953 |
| 7 | Clifton Hill, Melbourne | Art Deco hotel building from the late 1930s |
| 8 | Sedona, Arizona, USA | Turquoise arches chosen to suit the red rocks |
| 9 | Roswell, New Mexico, USA | Flying saucer shaped restaurant |
| 10 | Lindvallen (Salen), Sweden | Ski-thru restaurant for skiers |
10. Lindvallen ski resort, Sweden
This seasonal McDonald’s in the Salen ski area is reported to be the only ski-thru in the world. Skiers glide up, order and leave without taking their boots off. It opens for the ski season rather than all year.
9. Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is famous for UFO tourism, so the McDonald’s here is built like a flying saucer, with a metallic finish and lights at night. Inside, the play area carries a space theme. It is the best photo stop on this list for UFO fans.
8. Sedona, Arizona
Local design rules are reported to push buildings to blend in with the red rocks, so Sedona’s golden arches are turquoise instead. It is a small detail, but it is the best example of McDonald’s bending its own brand.
7. Clifton Hill, Melbourne, Australia
This McDonald’s sits in an Art Deco building designed as the United Kingdom Hotel and built in 1937 and 1938. The heritage-listed shell is the attraction, not the menu.
6. Downey, California
Downey is generally cited as the oldest McDonald’s still standing. It dates to 1953 and was the third restaurant franchised by the McDonald brothers. The retro sign and walk-up window make it more museum than restaurant, and it is reported to still serve the original fried apple pie.
5. Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
The McDonald’s in Bray occupies the former town hall. The red brick and half-timbered Tudor Revival building was designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and Guy Dawber and completed in 1884. The old open ground floor, once used for markets, and the oriel windows are still visible, which is why it beats most converted buildings.
4. Hangzhou, China
In 2015 McDonald’s converted a 1930s villa into a restaurant and McCafe. The house was once the home of Taiwanese leader Chiang Ching-kuo. The garden setting is nothing like a normal drive-thru.
3. Freeport, Maine
Freeport is the home of L.L.Bean, and the restaurant opened in 1984 in a roughly 150-year-old colonial house. It is a good example of a chain fitting into a town.
2. Imperial, Porto, Portugal
McDonald’s took over the old Imperial Cafe on Avenida dos Aliados in 1995. The building dates to the 1930s. A bronze eagle still sits over the entrance, and inside you will find stained glass, Art Deco detail and chandeliers. You can order a normal menu and a McCafe coffee under them.
1. Taupo, New Zealand
In 1990 McDonald’s bought a former car yard in Taupo, and the site came with a decommissioned Douglas DC-3 aircraft with its cockpit intact. The plane is now part of the seating area, and visitors can look at the cockpit. It was the original list’s number 8 and moves to the top because it is reported open and is the most unusual in practice.
Check before you go: former picks we could not confirm
These restaurants were in our original list. We could not confirm their current status, so treat them as places to check before travelling.
- Olympic Park, London (2012): the world’s largest McDonald’s at the time was a temporary building for the 2012 Games, built with about 75% recyclable materials and always planned to be taken down.
- New Hyde Park, Long Island: a restaurant in a Georgian-style mansion that was protected by the town in 1987.
- Dallas, Texas: the “Happy Meal” building with giant food statues and a luxury interior.
- Rome, near the Spanish Steps: opened in 1986 with marble and a gelato bar.
- Canal Street, New York: the narrow black building nicknamed “Skinny McDee”.
- Ulsan, South Korea: a drive-thru inside a gas station with a purple wing roof.
Two famous closures to know about: the floating McDonald’s in St. Louis (opened 1980) is reported to have closed in 2020, and the NASA-themed restaurant in Houston is also reported closed.
FAQ
What is the coolest McDonald’s in the world?
Our pick is Taupo, New Zealand, where the seating area includes a decommissioned DC-3 aircraft with a visitable cockpit.
Where is the oldest McDonald’s still standing?
Downey, California, which opened in 1953 and is generally cited as the oldest surviving McDonald’s.
Is there a McDonald’s inside a historic building?
Yes. Examples include Porto (the former Imperial Cafe), Bray in Ireland (the 1884 town hall) and Hangzhou in China (a 1930s villa).
Why are Sedona’s McDonald’s arches turquoise?
Local design rules are reported to push buildings to blend in with the red rock scenery, so the arches are turquoise instead of the usual gold.
How many McDonald’s restaurants are there?
At the end of 2025 the McDonald’s system comprised 45,356 restaurants in more than 100 countries.
Are the quirky McDonald’s restaurants always open?
No. Some are seasonal, like the Lindvallen ski-thru, and some have closed. Check opening hours before you travel.
How we put this list together
We scored each restaurant on setting, history and whether it is reported to be open, then re-ranked the original list. Restaurants we could not confirm moved to a separate check-before-you-go section.
Last updated: October 2026.
