ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Fun Things To Do In Queens NY -- New York City Attractions

Updated on May 24, 2012

If You Haven't Left Manhattan, You Haven't Seen New York City

When visiting NYC, it's easy to stay put in Manhattan, simply because there's so much to do. However, don't forget that there are four other boroughs to explore! Queens is, by far, the city's most multi-cultural borough; in it, hundreds of languages are spoken, and you can find almost any kind of authentic ethnic cuisine. Here's a quick guide to Queens' many neighborhoods and attractions. Trust me, there are so many things to do in Queens!

1. Explore Jackson Heights, Astoria, Flushing or Richmond Hill: Each of these neighborhoods has a unique and distinctive cultural flair. Jackson Heights is predominantly a Latino community, while Astoria has a high concentration of Greeks and Middle Easterners. Flushing, meanwhile, has many Asians and Richmond Hill has Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadian. All are worth checking out simply to walk around in or to try the cuisine. My husband and I had some of the best Greek food we've ever tasted when we ventured out to Astoria. Head to Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill and you can get Indian-influenced Guyanese food such as "doubles," which are Indian breads wrapped around fillings, or Indian pizza. Meanwhile, we had a great time sampling Korean food and dim sum in Flushing. So little English was spoken, we felt as if we were in a foreign country, so you know that the cuisine you're getting is authentic. What's so great about Queens is that in one day, you can pretty much travel the world if you stop in all of these neighborhoods. To get to Jackson Heights, take the E, F, R, V or 7 to 74th Roosevelt; to Astoria, take the N to Ditmars; to get to Flushing, take the 7 to Main St.; to get to Richmond Hill, take the A to Lefferts Blvd.

2. Take a walk through Forest Park and Forest Hills Gardens: Who knew that there would be grand, old mansions in New York City?! Walk through the two square miles of Forest Hills Gardens and you're transported to a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood lined with enormous homes, many from the 1920s and 1930s. They all have a very unique style, ranging from tudor-style homes to ones that almost look like castles. Forest Hills Gardens is especially lovely to visit in the spring when the flowers are out and the cherry blossoms are in bloom. One time, we were walking through the gardens and saw a bunch of kids throwing some fallen cherry blossoms in the air like it was New Year's and it was so beautiful. Meanwhile, nearby is the fantastic Forest Park, which has hiking trails and tennis courts -- you'd be surprised by how lost you can get while taking the trails. You don't even feel like you're in New York City anymore! Both Forest Hills Gardens and Forest Park are also near Austin Street, which boasts two movie theaters, plus many restaurants and boutiques. To get to Austin Street, take the E or F to 71st/Continental; you'll exit by Queens Blvd and Austin is one block in. You can also take the Long Island Rail Road to Forest Hills, which also exists right by Austin. To get to Forest Hills Gardens, take the LIRR, then walk two blocks in (away from the Queens Blvd.) and you'll hit the main street in the Gardens, Greenway North/South. To reach Forest Park, continue down Greenway NORTH until it veers left onto Markwood; cross at Union Tpke. and the park is right there. It can't be missed.

3. The New York Hall Of Science (47-01 111th St. Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens): This science museum is geared toward children, but is also fun for adults! It contains many hands-on exhibits, including "Rocket Park Mini-Golf" and the "Science Playground." Though it's outside of Manhattan, it's one of the best museums in the city. My friends who are teachers love it because they can take their kids on a field trip here and know that it will be fun and educational for their class. Take the 7 to 11th St. and then walk three blocks south.

4. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (Far Rockaway, Queens): This lagoon, which is adjacent to JFK Airport, is a great place to view different types of shorebirds. Overall, it houses over 9000 diverse habitats, and has marshes, fields and forests. There are plenty of hiking trails and you'd be amazed by how many different types of animals actually live the city. When you visit this park, you also get some great views of the famed New York City skyline. To get there, take the A train to Broad Channel station. When you get out, walk west to Crossbay Boulevard then turn right and walk about half a mile to the Visitors Center.

5. Citi Field (12301 Roosevelt Ave., Queens): Mets fans can catch a game at their new home. To get there, take the LIRR to the Citi Field stop. It's an easy trip which makes things very convenient for baseball fanatics!

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

The Mets At Citi Field

City Life

Which NYC Borough Is Your Favorite?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)