Roswell, New Mexico
Can you believe this is an actual McDonald’s restaurant? Residents of Roswell, New Mexico, are privileged enough to enjoy their Big Macs in a spaceship-like restaurant decorated with neon lights from top to bottom. We wish we knew who the designer was, cause this is just incredible. But believe it or not, there’s a reason why it looks like that.
Roswell is actually famous for its UFO sightings. In 1947, a United States Army Air Force balloon crashed into a ranch, and many people believe it was actually a flying saucer. Ever since then, conspiracy theorists have had Roswell as their favorite UFO site – and of course, McDonald’s is cashing in on it!
Bray, Ireland
Just take a look at this fabulous 19th-century building that looks like it came right out of a fairy tale. Impressive, right? Well, now imagine a McDonald’s sitting inside it. The magnificent Bray Town Hall actually has a fast-food restaurant within its elegant halls, because apparently, government officials love a good old Big Mac every once in a while.
What makes this location so interesting is that you would think that such a fancy and important building would have some sort of Michelin star restaurant inside of it, filled with extra-fancy food, but in reality, nobody can resist McDonald’s addictive, greasy food.
Versailles, France
If you thought Town Hall’s McDonald’s was strange, get ready for this one. The Palace of Versailles is one of the most impressive buildings to ever be made and was home to the Kings of France for many, many years. It is also famous for its magnificent architecture and decor, which draws in tourists in the thousands every single day of the year.
And of course, those tourists get hungry after a long day wandering the gorgeous halls of the palace. This didn’t go unnoticed by McDonald’s, who decided to open a restaurant right next to the train station where all the Versailles tourists arrive before heading off to the palace. Pretty smart, right?
Porto, Portugal
This is perhaps the most impressive McDonald’s locations in the whole world. This gorgeous building used to host the Imperial Café in Porto, Portugal, and later became McDonald’s most famous restaurant in the country. And the inside is even more breathtaking than the outside.
While the imperial eagle takes the spotlight on the beautiful façade, the inside of the gorgeous building has art-deco stained glass and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The emblematic structure was built in the 1930s and is considered a gem. The menu, however, is just the same as in any McDonald’s.
Madrid, Spain
Madrid, Spain, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was home to some of the greatest artists in history, and of course, the place where the Spanish royals have lived for centuries. Keeping all of this in mind, it shouldn’t be such a surprise that McDonald’s has a super fancy location right at the center of the city.
In the middle of one of its busiest streets, an exquisite old building is a home to a McDonald’s that is often crowded with tourists. The inside is just as impressive as the outside: chandeliers, marble pillars, and stone floors decorate the gorgeous restaurant, which makes visitors feel like Spanish royalty.
Kristiansand, Norway
Although McDonald’s has been at the top of the game for decades, the business gets more and more competitive as time goes by. Therefore, a good strategy that this huge company has decided to follow in order to stand out from the competition is actually to blend in with its surroundings.
This has allowed it to place itself in touristic locations like Kristiansand, Norway, at this gorgeous old building right at the corner of a busy street. This marvelous outlet used to be a bank, and most of it has been preserved by the restaurant chain. Just look at that façade! Exquisite is an understatement.
Dallas, Texas
The famous saying says it all: _Everything is bigger in Texas –_ and McDonald’s is no exception to the rule. While Norway decided to take the classy, artsy approach to the restaurant… Dallas decided to do this. This location in Dallas decided to go all in and display McDonald’s brand in all its glory.
The building is designed to look like a Happy Meal, and there are huge sculptures of not only Ronald himself, but also a hamburger, fries, and a coke, decorating the entrance. Oh, but that’s not all. At night, the whole place lights up in neon lights. This is as extra as can be, to be honest.
Negev Desert, Israel
Compared to the other restaurants on the list, this one is particularly unremarkable. But it’s not its façade that makes it special, but its location. Wherever tourists go, McDonald’s follows, and the Negev Desert in Israel is no exception to the rule.
The famous fast-food chain is extremely successful in these locations because it offers quick, cheap food, and it also helps homesick tourists feel a little bit like home when they are abroad. This location is perfectly located along the path that most tourists take to go to their resorts. Smart!
Windsor Castle, England
Obviously, there was going to be a McDonald’s outlet right by one of the most famous places in England. Outside the ancient, magnificent Windsor Castle, a McDonald’s restaurant blends in with the surrounding buildings and, of course, doesn’t even attempt to steal the castle’s thunder.
But what most people don’t know is that this restaurant actually belongs to the Queen herself. Although she isn’t a fan of fast food, the building has been part of the Queen’s state since 2008, as is pretty much everything located around the castle. Sadly, you will never, ever see her there.
Ulsan, South Korea
Imagine you mixed Norway’s classy ex-bank McDonald’s with Texas’ modern and surreal building… what would you get? Well, something like this! It seems that the construction team of this gas station McDonald’s kept adding more and more neon lights, thinking it wasn’t bright enough, and now you can just about see it all the way from North Korea. The bright, futuristic design almost makes you forget it is inside a gas station, of all places.
Not only is the location convenient for those who are on the road and need a break from all the driving, but the slick design makes it much more attractive to all customers in general, and let’s face it, it makes for great Instagram pictures. Luckily, no accidents have been caused by its blinding lights.
British Columbia, Canada
So far, we’ve looked at some very successful McDonald’s locations but this one is actually a major flop. Of course, even the best make mistakes sometimes, and this was definitely one. In 1986, someone thought it’d be a great idea to have some sort of McDonald’s cruise, and shockingly, the rest of the company agreed.
The McBarge was a floating outlet located in British Columbia, Canada, and was built for the World Expo held that year in Vancouver. Although it was originally intended to stay open, it was closed down right after the Expo, and now it’s just a creepy, abandoned shipwreck that people can actually see.
Tbilisi, Georgia
This location in Tbilisi, Georgia, surely stands out from all the indistinguishable red, white and yellow restaurants scattered all over the country. This beautiful, old building looks like it just came out of a sci-fi movie where scientists track the movements of UFOs circling Earth’s orbit, doesn’t it?
Sadly, there are no cool, intergalactic investigations going on inside, and there are just a few ordinary people working there waiting to let you know the ice cream machine is broken. Still, it’s a pretty nice place to visit, and it surely makes the McDonald’s experience much more inviting.
New Hyde Park, New York
This location certainly breaks the mold when it comes to traditional restaurants. This impressive old house is known as the Denton House in New Hyde Park, New York. The building was built as a farmhouse in 1795, and during the 1800s, it was converted into a breathtaking Georgian-style mansion.
It remained that way for almost 100 years until it was purchased by McDonald’s. The corporation’s initial intentions were to demolish it and build a new restaurant over it, but the house became protected because of its history. As a result, McDonald’s has been using it as a lovely location since 1985\. You can barely notice the McDonald’s sign in black letters!
Orlando, Florida
We just have no words for this one. What were they really trying to do? We’ll never know. While we’ve seen several classy and artsy buildings on this list, this one is the complete opposite of what we were expecting. But you gotta admit that it does draw your attention, and that’s probably the whole point.
Orlando is a city crowded with famous theme parks and tourist attractions that outshine boring, old McDonald’s, so the company really had to think of something to get people’s attention. The strangely-shaped building is covered in red and yellow squares from top to bottom, giving people an instant headache.
Independence, Ohio
This gorgeous, colonial building has been home to a McDonald’s outlet for a couple of decades, and it has been working well for the company. Somehow, the combination of a greasy, unhealthy fast-food restaurant with a classy, clean house acting as a host draws all kinds of people into its impressive halls.
Inside, although it does have the typical McDonald’s features like plastic tables and the golden arches, the ceiling is decorated with magnificent chandeliers, and apparently, piano music plays in the background, so you can feel like a lord or lady as you dig in your Big Mac.
Milan, Italy
Milan, Italy, is one of Europe’s biggest tourist attractions. The ancient city is famous for its fashion scene, its art, and its culture. So of course, McDonald’s found a way to blend in the fabulous spirit of the city. Right at the center of the city, there’s the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and it’s no surprise there’s an outlet there.
The marvelous building is covered in gold and marble, and only the biggest stores and restaurants have a spot in Italy’s oldest functional shopping mall, such as Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton…and McDonald’s. Its presence has been controversial, however, and has been battling Prada for its spot since 2012.
Victoria, Australia
You either love this one, or you hate it. Some may call it artsy, and others a headache. But one thing is for sure: it does get your attention. This outlet in Victoria, Australia, dials things all the way up to eleven, and then beyond, with its art-deco stylings.
This spaceship-like restaurant is certainly eye-catching, but not in a good way. It kinda looks like that episode of _The Simpsons_ when Moe revamps his bar and turns it into a post-modern, psychedelic bar that only attracts weird people – and this one probably does as well.
Hangzhou, China
Lo and behold; this exquisite McDonald’s restaurant in Hangzhou, China, is fit for an emperor. Following one of its success’ cornerstones, the fast-food chain adapted this outlet to its local audience, blending in with the rest of the area. But that’s not the only thing the company did to take its success abroad.
McDonald’s actually has a completely different menu in China. Apart from incorporating the local architecture, it caters to the local taste by service rice-based meals, and also a very broad variety of pies. Lastly, it also features taro, a root vegetable from southeast Asia.
London, England
This one is particularly special. This unusually large restaurant, located in London, England, was built for the 2012 Olympics hosted in the city, and it was actually the largest McDonald's in the entire world at the time. Of course, since it was built for the Olympics, it had to have Olympic proportions.
The supersized location was built to cater to the monumental event and was only to be open for the event's run. Most of the building was recycled or re-purposed once the Olympics were over, but at the time, the 3000 sq ft construction served around 1,200 customers per hour! Unbelievable.
Taupo, New Zealand
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Oh yes, it's actually a plane. The fast-food powerhouse needs to come up with new, clever ideas to get more costumers and stay at the top of the game, so the people of Taupo, New Zealand thought it would be a great idea to just put a gigantic McDonald's plane at the entrance of a restaurant, which surely gets the attention of everyone who passes by.
What is particularly interesting about this plane is that it's actually real. This DC-3 airliner was decommissioned and bought by Taupo's mayor, who was kind enough to place it at the McDonald's store in the city. Oh, and the best part is that customers are allowed to go inside and take a look