10 of the best beaches near airports

Grab some sun during a layover

Talk about close to the airport: Dockweiler Beach lies directly under the LAX flight path. 

Sleep pods, beauty spas and gourmet restaurants are all well and good for passing time during a layover, but some major airports go one better.

They've got a beach.

Well, almost. They've got a beach that's just a short hop from the terminal, allowing adventurous travelers to soak up some sunshine and surf while waiting for their next flight.

Here are the best sands within striking distance of some of the world's biggest business hubs.

Milwaukee Pug Fest

Milwaukee's Pug Fest, an annual event that helps pay for medical and dental bills for rescued pugs, attracted more than 1,700 pugs and other smushy-faced dogs along with 2,900 humans from the U.S. and Canada.

In this May 19, 2013, photo Chipper, right, and Chickory pose for a photo at the Milwaukee Pug Fest in Franklin, Wis. The annual event, that helps pay for medical and dental bills for rescued pugs, attracted more than 1,700 pugs and other smushy-faced dogs along with 2,900 humans from the U.S. and Canada. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)

Abandoned Stars Wars sets in the desert

New York-based visual artist and filmmaker Rä di Martino has taken a series of eerie and beautiful photos that capture scenes of abandoned Hollywood film sets. Martino spent over a year traveling throughout the desert towns of Morocco and Tunisia hunting down the old Star Wars sets. 'No More Stars' showcases the backdrop of Luke Skywalker’s home on the fictional desert planet Tatooine, its massive structures that now stand like ancient ruins forgotten by time and man.

Rä di Martino's work can be seen at
Tate Modern.

Chilling out in Dubai's ice cafe

Hundreds of tourists eager to escape the heat are flocking to Dubai's Chillout cafe, the first "ice lounge" in the Middle East, whose interior is made entirely of carved ice, with frozen picture frames, ice curtains and frosty seats covered in fur.

Honeymooner Ahmed, form Saudi Arabia who got married last week, kisses his veiled bride at Chillout cafe in Dubai May 12, 2013. Chillout, owned by UAE's Sharaf Group, is the first ice lounge in the Middle East, with temperatures set at -6 degrees Celsius (21 degrees Farenheit). The cafe, with its illuminated interiors, curtains, paintings and seating arrangements, is all made of carved ice and frozen sculptures. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Odd elevators of the world

Elevators can be more than an easy way to reach the upper levels of businesses and residences. Located around the world, these odd elevators, surfaced by the website World Geography, stretch the imagination. Going up!  

AquaDom, Berlin, Germany As riders go up, they’re treated to an undersea experience. Located in the Radisson Blu Hotel, the 82-foot-tall cylindrical aquarium comes with a transparent elevator that goes through the center. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch) FAB/JOH/WS

Alpaca shearing day in Germany

The alpacas are always shorn in spring, to make the animals more comfortable for the summer months and to collect the expensive and well known alpaca wool

Google Doodle Honors Earth Day

If you just woke up or even if you're heading out to work, take a moment to lean down and give good old Mother Earth a kiss; it is Earth Day, after all. Google's marking the day with a lively animated Google Doodle that almost completely obscures the search giant's brand name.

10 Jaw-Dropping Gigapixel Photos

Everyone loves fine photography. But high-resolution, gigapixel photos turn an image into an exploration. Here are some of the best.

Natural World Phenomena

From the vivid colors of a beautiful hot spring to a random rock formation that looks just like an elephant - these are the extraordinary phenomenons of the natural world. The outlandish landscapes might look like something from another planet but they are in fact completely natural eccentricities. And while these mind-blowing quirks of Mother Nature might continue to puzzle scientists, they also continue to draw in tourists fascinated by the surreal spectacles.

The Puente del Inca natural rock bridge in Argentina - Bright orange and yellow bacteria mats are created by natural sulphur springs which cover the rock walls. PIC BY STEFFEN AND ALEXANDRA SAILER / ARDEA / CATERS NEWS

Titanic Violin Goes On Display

The violin from the band that played as the Titanic sank was recovered in an attic in England, and is currently on display on the 101st anniversary of the sinking of the ship on April 15, 2013 in Devizes, England. The rosewood violin was believed to have disappeared beneath the waves when its owner, band leader Wallace Hartley, drowned with some 1,500 others on board the supposedly "unsinkable" ocean liner in April 1912.

Long thought to have been either lost at sea or stolen, it is being described, as far as Titanic memorabilia goes, as one the most important pieces that has ever come up for sale.

Italy's Mount Etna erupts

Lava flowed during an eruption of the snow capped Mount Etna volcano, near the Sicilian town of Catania, southern Italy, on Apr. 11.

Hong Kong's Cramped Quarters

With more than 200,000 people in Hong Kong currently on waiting lists for subsidized public housing, droves have downsized or moved into factory buildings, sub-divided "slaughtered" flats that can accommodate multiple families, or moved into "cage homes", wire-mesh hutches stacked on top of each other in crowded rooms.

'Sidewall skiing' in Saudi Arabia

In a country without any snow, the sport of skiing gets reinvented. Youths in Saudi Arabia demonstrate a stunt known as “sidewall skiing” (driving on two wheels).

Saudi youths demonstrate a stunt known as "sidewall skiing" (driving on two wheels) in the northern city of Hail, in Saudi Arabia March 30, 2013. Performing stunts such as sidewall skiing and drifts is a popular hobby amongst Saudi youths. REUTERS/Mohamed Al Hwaity (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

World's Most Expensive Penthouse

World’s Most Expensive Penthouse Comes, Unsurprisingly, With An Infinity Pool And Water Slide 500 Feet In The Air

Beyonce and Jay-Z's Cuba trip

After the superstar couple's anniversary visit to Havana, Cuba was criticized as 'propaganda,' Reuters reports that it was "fully licensed" by the U.S. Treasury Department on April 9.

U.S. singer Beyonce and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, right, tours Old Havana as a body guard, left, and tour guide, right, accompany them in Cuba, Thursday, April 4, 2013. R&B's power couple is in Havana on their fifth wedding anniversary. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

World's Longest Train Tunnel

Switzerland is building in the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel, which is the world’s longest train tunnel, with 35-mile long parallel tracks crossing the Alps. The tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016.

An employee of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd and a visitor stand at the NEAT Gotthard Base tunnel near Erstfeld May 7, 2012. Crossing the Alps, the world's longest train tunnel should become operational at the end of 2016. The project consists of two parallel single track tunnels, each of a length of 57 km (35 miles) REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT TRAVEL)

Multi Purpose Fighter SU 305M

The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO reporting name: Flanker-G) is a modification of the Su-30, incorporating advanced technology from the Su-27M variant. Su-30MKK was developed by Sukhoi Company (JSC) in 1997, as a result of a direct Request for Tender between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. It is a heavy class, all-weather, long-range strike fighter, comparable to the American F-15E Strike Eagle. Su-30MK2 is a further improvement to Su-30MKK with upgraded avionics and maritime strike capabilities. The MKK and MK2 are currently operated by the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Indonesian Air Force, Vietnam People's Air Force, Venezuelan Air Force and the Uganda People's Defence Force.

Glacial Waterfalls

In this jaw-dropping photograph we see glacial waterfalls cascading into the sea. The photo was taken on or near Spitsbergen, the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Svalbard represents the northernmost part of Norway, located about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions. Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of freshwater on Earth, supporting one-third of the world’s population. Many glaciers store water during one season and release it later as meltwater, a water source that is especially important for plants, animals and human uses when other sources may be scant. 

Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climate changes, e.g., precipitation, mean temperature, and cloud cover, glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level.

400 Year Old Treasure

400-year-old shipwreck treasure recovered

A shipwreck site, called the "Tortugas" excavation, was first discovered back in 1965. Its 400-year-old treasure found off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico has now been recovered. The treasure fleet ship was sailing back to Spain after collecting colonial treasures back in 1622. It was struck down by a fierce hurricane off the southwest tip of Florida, about 400 miles from the Florida Keys.

Views from One World Trade Center

A stunning new observation deck with panoramic views is currently under construction at One World Trade Center and will occupy the tower's 100th through 102nd floors. Elevators will whisk visitors to the top in just one minute but the experience of visiting the attraction will take an hour.

Members of the media tour the unfinished observation deck on the 100th floor of the One World Trade Center building, under construction in New York, Tuesday, April 2, 2013. The observation deck will occupy the tower's 100th through 102nd floors. Elevators will whisk visitors to the top in just one minute but the experience of visiting the attraction will take an hour. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)