Coffee chains are usually designed around convenience, and that means good coffee, quick service, and prime locations, and that’s about it. But if there’s one thing that the world knows about Starbucks by now, it’s that the Seattle-based coffee chain is not one to stick with the status quo. Sure, you’ll find a small Starbucks to-go counter inside the Target near your house, or you might bump into one at an airport before a flight, but that’s not all that Starbucks is about. Some Starbucks locations push the boundaries of all that a coffee shop can be. From 17th-century buildings and ski-style cabins to oceanside rooftop cafes and those that overlook a farm, these Starbucks locations are anything but ordinary.
10 Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai
Dubai’s Ibn Battuta Mall is a themed shopping center that’s divided into six courts, each inspired by India, Andalusia, Egypt, China, Persia, and Tunisia. It’s inside the Persian Court that you’ll find a Starbucks outlet that will take your breath away. As you walk through the luxe mall, arched passages will open up to a high-ceiling dome decorated in blue and turquoise Persian-style tiled mosaic with a stunning brass chandelier in the middle. It’s right below this that you’ll find the mall’s Starbucks, which will transport you back to the grand courts of Persia.
9 The Suzzallo Library, Washington
Starbucks has long expanded from street corners and landmark locations to college campuses across the world. So a Starbucks outlet inside the University of Washington isn’t exactly extraordinary, but the fact that it’s tucked inside a 90-year-old library that looks like it belongs in Hogwarts isn’t really an everyday thing. The Suzzallo Library opened in 1926 with a 4,100-square-foot reading room. The room has been converted by Starbucks into a cafe, but it still keeps much of the original 20th-century elements intact. Besides a 40-foot sculpture, the Washington University Starbucks still has Suzzallo Library’s original doors, iron scrollwork, and stained-glass windows.
8 CIA Headquarters, Virginia
There’s no stunning architecture or breathtaking view that makes Virginia’s Starbucks special. In fact, most will never even be able to glimpse a picture of this Starbucks location, let alone get the chance to see it in person. Tucked away in the CIA headquarters is a Starbucks outlet whose location is just as classified as everything else the intelligence agency does. Coffee receipts won’t even mention Starbucks; they simply label the cafe as “Store No 1.” It’s the only Starbucks store in the world where baristas will not ask customers for a name, a Google Maps location search will reveal nothing, job interviews involve background checks, and entry to the cafe requires a security clearance. It’s also the only Starbucks in the world that has virtually never been photographed — it’s inside the CIA headquarters, after all!
7 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris
Starbucks reopened its Boulevard des Capucines outlet in 2017, and now no one knows which one’s more beautiful — the iconic Opéra Garnier or its newly restored neighboring coffeeshop. The Boulevard des Capucines Starbucks sits inside a 17th-century building that has been refurbished to include a glass roof but still retains much of its old-world glamour. The 19th-century murals on the ceilings have been restored, and golden chandeliers illuminate the coffeeshop. The glimmering Boulevard des Capucines Starbucks may very well be Starbucks’ most fashionable outpost to date, and the fact that it’s located in the heart of Paris is only a bonus.
6 Bebek, Istanbul
Starbucks is known for a lot of things, but stunning views probably aren’t one of them. That’s what makes Bebek’s Starbucks all the more special. Located on the Bosporus Strait, the Starbucks in Bebek sits between two continents: Asia and Europe. To allow its customers to watch the flurry of activity that the strait sees every hour, the Bebek Starbucks sits on a rooftop with the starry sky for a ceiling and the wide sea for walls. Visitors can soak in the sea breeze and take in the ferries shuttling away as they sip on their Frappuccinos.
5 Hacienda Alsacia, Costa Rica
Sitting on the foot of a volcano in Costa Rica is Starbucks’ first and only coffee farm in the world: Hacienda Alsacia. The coffee chain bought the 240-hectare coffee farm in 2013 and opened a Research and Development facility along with a cafe on the farm’s sprawling grounds. Today, visitors can take 90-minute guided tours of Hacienda Alsacia, which include a coffee tasting, learning the bean-to-cup process of a Starbucks coffee, and finishing off the day with a trip to the cafe with gorgeous views of the farm.
4 Saraswati Temple, Bali
No matter where you are in the world, you can find solace in knowing that there’s most likely a Starbucks somewhere close by, whether it’s a university campus, a bank in Amsterdam, or even the CIA headquarters. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find that Starbucks has even managed to snag a piece of real estate inside a Balinese temple complex. The Starbucks in Ubud sits inside a former warehouse overlooking the Saraswati Temple, surrounded by serene zen gardens and a lotus-covered fish pond, making it one of the most extraordinary Starbucks locations in the world.
3 Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya, Kyoto
Besides its Buddhist temples, imperial palaces, and kaiseki dining, Kyoto is also famous for being home to the greatest number of machiya — wooden townhouses where merchants and craftsmen lived until the second World War. In 2017, Starbucks opened a two-story outlet inside a 100-year-old machiya in the historical capital of Japan. The Ninenzaka Starbucks has breezy curtains for doors, lanterns for light, scrolls and Japanese gardens for decoration, and tatami mats for seating. It’s one of the rare stores that lack the bold neon green Starbucks signage, making it an easy cafe to miss if you don’t keep an eye out for it.
2 The Bank, Amsterdam
Several things make Starbucks’ outpost in Amsterdam special. For one, the coffee shop on Rembrandt Square is located inside what once was the vault of the prestigious Amsterdamsche Bank. Besides the fact that visitors are quite literally sipping on coffee inside a vault, the Dutch Starbucks is also designed to be a coffee theatre of sorts. Tables are spread across several platforms that can be accessed by a network of staircases, but the theatre-like design of The Bank ensures that all tables offer direct views of baristas working their magic on the many coffee stations.
1 The Royal Caribbean Fleet
Now that Starbucks has hopped across several continents to make its mark on the map, the Seattle-based coffeehouse has eyes on conquering the seas too. Back in 2010, Royal Caribbean announced that it was opening the first Starbucks on sea inside Allure of the Seas, complete with a fresh selection of coffees, teas, and baked offerings. The partnership has since expanded to have a Starbucks café onboard at least four other Oasis-class ships, including the Symphony of the Seas and the luxurious Wonder of the Seas. Sipping on a hot chai latte or an icy Frappuccino while floating somewhere in the Caribbean waters is, without a doubt, a Starbucks experience unlike any other.