Exploring Queens

Even though the borough of Brooklyn gets more attention, Queens is the largest and most diverse borough in New York City. The county was established in 1683 and named after English queen Catherine of Braganza. At this time, it included Nassau County of Long Island. Then in 1898, Queens became a New York City borough.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park was the setting for the 1964 World's Fair. It is the largest park in the borough and features the following tourist attractions, the Queens Botanical Garden, New York Hall of Science, Queens Museum, Queens Theater, and Citi Field.

The park has large open spaces and a zoo. and offers activities like boating, biking, and hiking. It hosts the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center complex is home to the US Open, held at the end of the summer every year. At the center of it all is the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world. You can tour the stadium.

Also in the park, The Queens Zoo is home to over 75 species native to the Americas. It is only one of the five zoos in New York City exhibiting Andean bears. The zoo is also home to pumas, California sea lions, coyotes, burrowing owls, and many more animals. There is a walk-through aviary and a farm with domestic animals.

The highlight of Flushing Meadows Corona Park is the iconic Unisphere, a 140-foot-high steep representation of our planet. It was built for the World's Fair and has been here ever since. The Unisphere was popularized in the movie “Men In Black” in 1997.

Also left from the World's Fair are The Observation Towers. These are three concrete towers, with the tallest at 226 feet high. They have observation platforms that were once accessed by two “Sky Streak Capsule” elevators, which have been removed. The Northern Tower stands at 160 feet high, and the Southern Tower at 85 feet.

The Queens Botanical Garden was part of the 1939-1940 World's Fair as the “Gardens on Parade.” The garden has since expanded and is worth visiting. You can take a stroll through the Oak Allee, annual and perennial flower beds, arboretum, herb garden, bee garden, and ornamental grass garden, among others. The flowers and shrubs in the Fragrance Garden provide a wonderful scented experience.

The iconic Citi Field baseball Park is the home base for the New York Mets. The team is part of the National League division of Major League Baseball. During the Subway Series, the New York Mets play against their rival New York City team, the Yankees. The Bark At the Park events all through the year attract sports fans and their dogs to the Coca-Cola Corner for a fun-filled day at the ball game.

Visit the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum for highlight videos, interactive kiosks, and trophies from the 1969 and 1986 World Series wins. On non-game days visitors can tour the ballpark and have access to restricted areas.

Gantry Plaza State Park is located across the East River in Long Island City, Queens. It is a great vantage point to see the sunset among the skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan. You can also see the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building.

People enjoy walking along the riverfront to see the Manhattan skyline and see the beautiful gardens and mist fountain. A popular place to take selfies is the landmark 1936 red neon Pepsi-Cola sign. The park has basketball and handball courts, playgrounds, and a fishing pier.

Alley Pond Park is the second largest park in Queens. It is home to the oldest and tallest tree in the city, nicknamed The Queens Giant. This is a 133.8-foot tulip poplar tree that is estimated to be over 300 to 450 years old. The tree was a gift to the Walloon Belgian Protestant families, who were among the first to settle in Manhattan, from the Dutch West India Company in the 17th century.

The park has many trails for hiking, letting visitors get close to nature with meadows, forests, tidal flats, and wetlands. There are BBQ areas, playgrounds, courts, and fields.

Queens is home to two popular New York City beaches – Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk and Jacob Riis Park Beach. Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk is a favorite from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

It is great for both sunbathers and surfers and is the largest urban beach in the country. The beach has playgrounds and surf schools. You can find delicious refreshments and drinks along the boardwalk.

A short distance away is Jacob Riis Park, nicknamed the “People's Beach.” Here you can enjoy The Bazaar with some of the best food in the city. It also hosts live shows, sporting and film events, and fun games.

The beach also has a golf center, ball courts, concession stands, and vendors.

Astoria Park has rolling grassy fields. It is located beneath the Robert F Kennedy Bridge, overlooking the East River in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. It is the largest park in the neighborhood, with outdoor tennis courts, a bandstand, walking trails, basketball courts, and playgrounds.

During the summer, people enjoy the outdoor public pool, which is the oldest and largest in New York City. There are outdoor events like concerts, movie nights, and more.

Forest Hills Stadium is an outdoor music venue in the Forest Hills neighborhood. It is one of the best places in the city to catch a live show. The venue was designed with visuals and audio in mind and has amazing acoustics. Among the celebrities who have performed here are Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Mumford and Sons, and Ed Sheeran, among others.

Museums

Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria is the place for cinephiles and pop culture fans. The museum offers the history of movies and TV through interactive exhibits. You can see costumes like the striped shirt worn by Freddie Krueger and artifacts like the Yoda puppet. You can try your hand with sound and film editing in private booths. There is a permanent Jim Henson Exhibition with all your favorite muppets. The Sumner M Redstone Theater features exclusive screenings and conversations with celebrity guests.

Socrates Sculpture Park was created by American sculptor Mark di Suvero on an abandoned landfill, and it became an outdoor museum. It overlooks the East River and Manhattan skyline showcasing works of art from famous artists since 1986. It is the only one of its kind exhibiting art in an outdoor space in New York City. The sculptures are built on-site.

The Noguchi Museum exhibits a wide collection of artwork from Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi. There is an outdoor sculpture garden.

The Queens Museum was built for the 1964 World's Fair. It is housed in a modern building in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. showcasing exhibits related to architecture, art, and design. The permanent collection has 10,000 items, many of them related to the World's Fair. You can enjoy the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany glass windows, lamps, and objects on display from Tiffany Studios. The highlight is the “Panorama of New York”, a massive room-sized scale model of the five New York City boroughs as seen during the 1960s with buildings that have never even been built.

The New York Hall of Science NYSCI was also built for the World's Fair. It is a family-friendly museum with 450 interactive exhibits, workshops, and programs. You can make your own experiment at the Design Lab, learn about evolution on Earth through a series of exhibits, look for life in the solar system, and see nature or animal-centric 3D movies in the on-site theater.

Things to do and see in Manhattan

Things to do and see in Brooklyn

Things to do and see in The Bronx