Queens

Discovering Queens

Queens is the quiet giant of New York City. Covering 109 square miles — the largest borough by area — it stretches from the gleaming Long Island City waterfront across the East River from Midtown Manhattan to the wind-swept beaches of the Rockaways on the Atlantic Ocean. It contains two of the city’s three major airports. It has hosted two World’s Fairs. And it is, by every measurable standard, the most ethnically diverse urban area on the planet. More than 2.3 million people from over 120 countries call Queens home, speaking an estimated 800 languages in neighborhoods that transition from Chinese to Korean to Indian to Colombian to Greek within the span of a few subway stops.

This diversity is not a marketing tagline. It is the lived reality of Queens, and it manifests most powerfully in the food. In Flushing, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia serves hand-pulled noodles, Sichuan hot pot, and soup dumplings that compete with anything in Shanghai or Chengdu. In Jackson Heights, Tibetan momos sit alongside Nepali thali plates, Colombian bandeja paisa, and Mexican tacos al pastor on a single block of Roosevelt Avenue. In Astoria, Greek tavernas that have served souvlaki for 50 years share streets with Egyptian koshari shops, Brazilian churrascarias, and Czech beer gardens. Queens does not curate its multiculturalism for Instagram. It simply lives it, block by block, plate by plate.

What keeps Queens off the standard tourist itinerary is exactly what makes it extraordinary. There are no Times Square billboards here, no Empire State Building observation decks, no Statue of Liberty ferries. What Queens offers instead is the real New York — the immigrant-built, working-class, endlessly inventive city that has existed beneath the Manhattan skyline for generations. Visiting Queens is not an alternative to Manhattan. It is the completion of the picture.

Flushing: Asia in New York

Flushing is not Manhattan’s Chinatown. It is bigger, more complex, more authentic, and more delicious. Located at the terminus of the 7 train in eastern Queens, Flushing has evolved over the past four decades from a quiet residential neighborhood into the largest and most vibrant Asian community in the Western Hemisphere. The original Chinese immigration wave in the 1970s and 1980s has been joined by Korean, Japanese, Malaysian, Indian, and Central Asian communities, creating a neighborhood that defies easy categorization.

The center of gravity is Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, where the subway deposits you into a sensory onslaught of Chinese signage, the smell of roasting duck and steaming bao, and a sidewalk density that rivals Hong Kong. New World Mall, at 136-20 Roosevelt Avenue, houses a basement food court that is one of the essential eating experiences in all of New York City. For $5-8, you can eat hand-pulled noodles swimming in chili oil, lamb skewers dusted with cumin, Fujianese peanut noodle soup, or Sichuan dry pot with your choice of meats and vegetables. The quality is extraordinary, the prices are laughable by Manhattan standards, and the authenticity is unimpeachable — the food court serves the Chinese immigrant community first and foremost.

Beyond the food court, Flushing rewards deep exploration. Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao on Prince Street serves soup dumplings that consistently rank among the best in the city — the crab and pork version ($12.95 for eight) is worth the inevitable wait. Joe’s Shanghai nearby does an excellent version as well. For Sichuan heat, Szechuan House on Main Street delivers mapo tofu and boiled fish in chili broth that will recalibrate your spice tolerance. The Korean presence is strongest along Northern Boulevard and Union Street, with massive barbecue restaurants, fried chicken shops, and karaoke rooms that stay open until 4 AM. The Ganesh Temple Canteen, inside the Hindu Temple of North America at 143-09 Holly Avenue, serves a cafeteria-style South Indian lunch — dosas, idli, vada, and uttapam — for $7-12 in one of the most unexpected dining rooms in Queens.

The Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, which separates Flushing from the rest of Queens, is worth its own half-day. The Unisphere — that 140-foot stainless steel globe built for the 1964 World’s Fair — is the park’s centerpiece and one of the most recognizable structures in New York City. The Queens Museum houses the Panorama of the City of New York, a mind-boggling 9,335-square-foot scale model of every single building in all five boroughs. Built for the 1964 Fair and continuously updated, it is a masterpiece of miniature urban geography that reveals the city’s structure in ways no observation deck can match.

Astoria: The Mediterranean Meets the World

Astoria occupies the northwestern corner of Queens, pressed against the East River with views of the Manhattan skyline across the water. For most of the 20th century, it was synonymous with Greek immigration — and the Greek community remains the neighborhood’s cultural anchor. Taverna Kyclades on Ditmars Boulevard serves grilled whole branzino, octopus salad, and saganaki (pan-fried cheese) that could hold its own on any Aegean island. Bahari Estiatorio, Stamatis, and Loukoumi Taverna continue the tradition. The sidewalk cafes along 30th Avenue and Broadway fill on warm evenings with families lingering over mezze plates and glasses of retsina.

But Astoria in 2026 is far more than Greek. The neighborhood has absorbed waves of Egyptian, Moroccan, Brazilian, Colombian, Bosnian, and Bengali immigrants, and its restaurant scene reflects this layering. On Steinway Street — known locally as “Little Egypt” — you can eat koshari (Egypt’s national comfort food of rice, lentils, pasta, and spicy tomato sauce) at Kabab Cafe’s spiritual neighbors, then walk to a hookah lounge serving fresh mint tea. Vesta Trattoria on 30th Avenue does some of the best Italian food in Queens. The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, the last remaining Czech beer garden in New York City, occupies a full city block on 24th Avenue and has been serving pilsners under the trees since 1919.

Astoria is also home to the Museum of the Moving Image, a museum dedicated to film, television, and digital media housed in the historic Kaufman Astoria Studios complex, where the Marx Brothers, Rudolph Valentino, and Gloria Swanson once filmed. The museum’s permanent collection includes original Jim Henson Muppets, vintage video games, and behind-the-scenes artifacts from film history. Admission is $15 for adults, and the museum stays open until 7 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Astoria waterfront along Vernon Boulevard and the Astoria Park area offers some of the best free views in Queens. Astoria Park itself, home to the city’s oldest and largest public pool (opened in 1936 for the Olympic trials), sits directly beneath the Triborough Bridge with unobstructed Manhattan skyline views. On summer evenings, the park fills with families grilling, playing soccer, and watching the sun set behind the midtown towers.

Jackson Heights: The Crossroads of Everything

Jackson Heights is where Queens’ diversity reaches its densest expression. Originally developed in the 1910s as one of America’s first planned garden communities — its pre-war co-op apartment buildings and shared interior gardens are architectural landmarks — the neighborhood has become home to overlapping communities from South Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Asia that share the same streets in a mosaic of extraordinary complexity.

The South Asian core runs along 74th Street between Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue. This is the heart of New York’s Little India, Little Bangladesh, and Little Nepal all compressed into a few explosive blocks. The sidewalks are lined with sari shops, gold jewelry stores, Bollywood music vendors, and grocery stores selling fresh curry leaves, jackfruit, and 50-pound bags of basmati rice. Jackson Diner, the anchor restaurant since 1981, serves a lunch buffet of North Indian standards — butter chicken, saag paneer, chana masala, naan — for $16 that draws crowds from across the city. For something more specific, Tibetan momos (steamed or fried dumplings filled with beef, chicken, or vegetables) are the neighborhood specialty — Lhasa Fast Food on Roosevelt Avenue serves a plate of eight for $8-10 that are simply perfect. Nepali Bhanchha Ghar on 70th Street offers Nepali thali plates with dal bhat, achar, and seasonal vegetables for $12-15.

The Latin American presence is equally powerful. Colombian bakeries selling empanadas, pan de bono, and arepas cluster along Roosevelt Avenue. Pollos a la Brasa Mario serves Peruvian rotisserie chicken with green sauce that has developed a cult following. Ecuadorian restaurants serve hornado (roast pork) and llapingachos (potato patties) in portions meant for sharing. On weekend mornings, street vendors along Roosevelt Avenue sell tamales, elote (grilled corn), and champurrado (thick chocolate atole) from steaming carts.

The annual Queens Pride Parade, held each June, runs through Jackson Heights — the neighborhood has a long history as a welcoming community for LGBTQ+ immigrants, and the parade reflects the intersection of queer identity and immigrant culture in ways that are unique to this particular corner of the world.

Long Island City, MoMA PS1 & the Waterfront

Long Island City — LIC to locals — has transformed more dramatically than any neighborhood in Queens over the past 15 years. Once an industrial zone of warehouses and factory buildings, it is now a forest of residential towers with some of the most dramatic Manhattan skyline views in the entire city. The waterfront at Gantry Plaza State Park, with its restored railroad transfer bridges and manicured lawns, offers a front-row seat to the Midtown skyline across the East River. The neon “Pepsi-Cola” sign, a preserved relic of a former bottling plant, has become an iconic Queens landmark.

MoMA PS1, the contemporary art institution affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art, occupies a former public school building at 22-25 Jackson Avenue. Its exhibitions lean toward experimental, provocative, and site-specific installations that push the boundaries of what gallery spaces can contain. The building itself — a sprawling, labyrinthine former school with galleries carved from classrooms and stairwells — is part of the experience. Admission is $10, free with a MoMA ticket. In summer, the Warm Up series transforms the PS1 courtyard into an outdoor dance party every Saturday afternoon with DJs, experimental music, and installations — tickets sell out fast at $22.

The Noguchi Museum, on Vernon Boulevard in the industrial fringe of LIC, is one of New York City’s most serene cultural experiences. Designed by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi as a permanent home for his work, the museum occupies a converted factory building and an outdoor sculpture garden. The stone, metal, and wood pieces sit in natural light, and the garden — with its gravel paths and carefully placed boulders — feels like a meditation on space and silence. Admission is $10, free on the first Friday of each month.

Hunters Point South Park, a newer waterfront development south of Gantry Plaza, extends the public waterfront access with playgrounds, a dog run, and additional skyline viewing points. The NYC Ferry’s Astoria route stops at LIC, making it possible to combine a waterfront day with a scenic boat ride to and from Manhattan for $4.

Rockaway Beach & the Coastal Edge

The Rockaways form a narrow barrier peninsula along Queens’ southern coast, stretching 11 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. For decades, the Rockaways were New York’s forgotten coastline — a collection of modest bungalow communities, public housing, and a faded boardwalk. Hurricane Sandy devastated the peninsula in 2012, but the rebuilding effort has transformed the Rockaways into one of the city’s most compelling seasonal destinations.

Rockaway Beach is New York City’s only legal surfing beach, and the stretch between Beach 67th and 69th streets draws a dedicated surf community that is part California, part Brooklyn, and entirely its own thing. Board rentals run $25-40 at shops like Locals Surf School, and lessons for beginners start at $80 for a two-hour group session. Even non-surfers will appreciate the energy — the beach culture here is relaxed, creative, and refreshingly unpretentious compared to the Hamptons crowd further east on Long Island.

The food scene along the Rockaway boardwalk has blossomed. Tacoway Beach serves Baja-style fish tacos and margaritas in a brightly painted shipping container. Rockaway Brewing Company pours local craft beers on an outdoor patio steps from the sand. Caracas Arepa Bar’s Rockaway outpost dishes out Venezuelan arepas stuffed with black beans, cheese, and avocado. Uma’s, a beloved Uzbek restaurant, serves plov and lamb kebabs from a beachside location. The whole strip operates with a seasonal, festival energy from Memorial Day through Labor Day that is unlike anything else in New York City.

The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, accessible from the Rockaways or via Cross Bay Boulevard, is a 9,155-acre wetland preserve within the Gateway National Recreation Area. Two walking trails loop through salt marshes and freshwater ponds that host over 330 bird species throughout the year. It is free, open daily, and feels impossibly remote for a place reachable by New York City subway.

Citi Field, the US Open & Queens’ Sporting Life

Queens has quietly become New York’s premier sports borough. Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, anchors the northern edge of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The stadium, opened in 2009, was designed as an homage to Brooklyn’s beloved Ebbets Field, with a brick-and-limestone facade and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda entrance. What sets Citi Field apart from many ballparks is its food — the stadium’s concourses feature outposts of New York food legends including Shake Shack, Fuku (David Chang’s fried chicken sandwich), Pat LaFrieda’s steak sandwiches, and Mamas of Corona empanadas. Mets tickets start as low as $15-20 for upper-deck seats on weeknights, making it one of the most affordable professional sports experiences in the city.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, also in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, hosts the US Open every August and September. The tournament is the final Grand Slam of the tennis season, and its atmosphere — raucous, diverse, fueled by cocktails and the rumble of planes descending into nearby LaGuardia Airport — is unlike any other major tennis event in the world. Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis-specific venue on Earth with 23,771 seats, anchors the complex. Grounds passes for the opening week start at $75 and give access to all the outer courts, where you can watch future stars from ten feet away. Even outside the US Open, the facility is open to the public for recreational tennis — court time runs $22-66 per hour depending on time and season.

Getting Around & Practical Planning

Queens is the largest borough by area, and its neighborhoods are spread across a wide geography connected by subway lines that generally run east-west from Manhattan rather than connecting neighborhoods within Queens to each other. The 7 train is the essential Queens line — it runs elevated above Roosevelt Avenue from Flushing through Jackson Heights and Long Island City into Manhattan, and it is the backbone of any Queens food crawl. The N and W trains serve Astoria. The E, F, M, and R trains pass through Jackson Heights and continue deeper into central Queens. The A train reaches the Rockaways, though the ride from Manhattan takes over an hour.

The best strategy for a Queens day is to focus on one or two neighborhoods rather than trying to cover the borough. A Flushing food day easily fills six hours. An Astoria afternoon of museum visits and Greek dinner is a complete experience. A Long Island City art walk followed by a ferry ride home makes an elegant half-day. Trying to combine Flushing, Astoria, and the Rockaways in a single day will leave you exhausted and spending more time on trains than in neighborhoods.

Hotel options in Queens are concentrated in Long Island City, where a cluster of boutique and mid-range hotels offer Manhattan-adjacent locations at 30-50% lower prices. The Boro Hotel, Paper Factory Hotel, and Ravel Hotel all deliver design-conscious rooms with easy subway access. Astoria has a growing number of Airbnb options in pre-war apartment buildings. Flushing has several Asian-operated hotels that cater to business travelers and offer clean, simple rooms at budget prices.

For food budgets, Queens is the most affordable eating borough in New York City. A full meal in Flushing’s food courts costs $6-10. Jackson Heights’ street food runs $3-8 per item. Even Astoria’s sit-down restaurants average $15-25 per person for dinner — half of what comparable quality costs in Manhattan. A dedicated food crawl day in Queens, hitting three neighborhoods and eating six to eight dishes, can run as little as $40-60 per person.