Attractions
Queens Zoo
Experience American wilderness right in New York City. The Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a 12-acre home to nearly 70 spectacular species, which roam in naturalistic habitats representing wild lands of North and South America. Walk down a wooded path and meet up with a mountain lion. Gaze across an expansive plain to see bison grazing in the grass. And look for spectacled bears relaxing in treetops. There's a tamer side, too - a charming barnyard area where you can feed friendly animals.
Location
53-51 111th Street, Flushing, NY 11368
Hours
April - October: Monday - Friday: 10:00am - 5:00pm Saturday - Sunday, Holidays: 10:00am - 5:30pm November - March: 10:00am - 4:30pm daily Open 365 days a year
Admission
Adults: Mon. - Sun. $5.00, Child (3- 12): Mon. - Sun. $1.00, Seniors (65 +): Mon. - Sun. $1.25
Children under 3 years are always free.
The New York Pass grants you free admission to the Zoo
Queens
Zoo
Queens Museum of Art
The Queens Museum of Art is the premier fine arts institution in the borough of Queens, and is situated in the New York City Building, one of the few major structures remaining from the 1939 and 1964 New York World's Fairs. The museum presents 20th century and contemporary art exhibitions, including a permanent collection of Tiffany art glass, and the world-famous Panorama of the City of New York - at 9,335 square feet, it's the world's largest architectural model and provides an incomparable bird's-eye-view of the entire metropolis.
Location
The New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY 11368-3398
(718) 592-9700
Hours
Tuesday - Friday: 10:00am - 5:00pm Saturday - Sunday: 12:00pm - 5:00pm Closed Monday. Call museum for holiday closings.
Admission
Admission is by suggested donation. Adults: $5.00, Senior and Children: $2.50, Members and Children under five: Free
The New York Pass grants you free admission to the Museum
The Queens
Museum of Art
American Museum of the Moving Image
The American Museum of the Moving Image is the only museum in the United States devoted to the art, history, and craft of motion pictures, television, and digital media. The dynamic, interactive core exhibition, Behind the Screen, explains the process of producing motion pictures and television programs. A second exhibition, DigitalMedia, offers visitors a hands-on experience of the digital moving image and software-based art. Screenings of historic and contemporary films are offered every weekend, often featuring personal appearances by directors and other industry professionals.
Location
35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria, NY 11106
(718) 784-0077
Hours
Wednesday - Friday: 12:00pm - 5:00pm (Friday 1st floor gallery open until 7:30pm) Saturday - Sunday: 11:00am - 6:00pm Closed Monday and Tuesday. Call museum for holiday closings.
Admission
Adults: $10.00, Senior Citizens, College Students with I.D.: $7.50, Children (5-18): $5.00, Members, Children under 5: Free
Admission to galleries is free on Fridays, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Film screenings not included.)
The New York Pass grants you free admission to the Museum
American
Museum of the Moving Image
New York Hall of Science
With more than 225 interactive exhibits, The New York Hall of Science is New York's only hands-on science and technology center. Visit the Pfizer Foundation Biochemistry Discovery Lab and play scientist for the afternoon. See a microbe zoo, enter a distorted room where people appear to shrink or grow, and let your body provide the electric connection to make music! From March to December, children of all ages can visit the 30,000 square foot Science Playground.
Location
47-01 111th Street, Queens, NY 11368
(719) 699-0005
Hours
July 1 - August 31: Monday: 9:30 - 2:00 Tuesday - Sunday: 9:30 - 5:00 September 1 - June 30: Tuesday - Wednesday: 9:30 - 2:00 Thursday - Sunday: 9:30 - 5:00 Closed Mondays. Closed Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year's Day.
Admission
Adults: (age 18 & over) $9, Children: (5 - 17, college w/ID) $6, Preschoolers: (2 - 4) $2.50, Senior Citizens: (age 62 & over) $6
Science Playground fee: $3 per person, $2 for groups, plus general Hall admission fee (free to Family Plus Members and higher).
The Science Playground is open to children of all ages with adult supervision, March - December, weather permitting.
Free Admission: Friday 2 - 5 pm (September 1 - June 30). Free every day to Hall Members.
The New York Pass grants you free admission to the Hall
New
York Hall of Science
The Unisphere
The symbol of Queens, the Unisphere is a giant globe in Flushing Meadows Park. It's a great spot to hang out and catch Queens at play: walking, biking, skating, running, barbecuing, and playing soccer. Next door is the Queens Museum of Art with its Panorama of New York City, an incredibly detailed scale model of the entire city. It is so well composed that you can pinpoint specific houses, even find your own home. The Panorama has been delighting visitors since the World's Fair in 1964.
Location
Flushing Meadows Park, Flushing
Direction
Subway #7 to Flushing Meadows
The Unisphere
Jackson Heights, an Indian and South Asian Neighborhood
The streets of Jackson Heights are lined with gold! Well, not exactly. A row of 22k gold jewelry shops light up 74th Street. It's the main drag of an Indian/South Asian enclave, and has some of the best eating in all of NYC (delicious curries, tandoori, nan, dosas, kebabs, Indian sweets, and more). There's lots of cool shopping -- saris, bhangra music, Bollywood DVDs -- and even a Bollywood movie theater. This fascinating Little India is a great place to experience Queens' famed diversity.
Direction
Subway N, R, G, E, F, 7 via the Roosevelt Avenue
Downtown Flushing, NYC's Second Chinatown
Downtown Flushing is New York's second largest Chinatown. It is worth a visit for an afternoon of strolling, peeking into herbalist shops, sipping up boba tea, and munching on great Chinese and other Asian eats. Don't miss the celebration of Lunar or Chinese New Year in Flushing every winter. You won't see the tourist crowds who go to New Year in Manhattan, but you will get an earful of firecrackers and an eyeful of dragon dancers.
Direction
Subway #7 to Flushing
Shea Stadium
What's better than an afternoon at the ball game, eating peanuts, and watching the Mets pull off a miracle? No doubt, there will be another miracle, if not this year, then next. Seats at Shea are less expensive than at Yankee Stadium. Plus, there's plenty of parking and plenty of tailgating to get you ready for the ball game.
Location
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Direction
7 line stops at Willets Point/Shea Stadium, on Roosevelt Avenue in the northern part of the Park.
Shea Stadium
USTA National Tennis Center / Arthur Ashe Stadium
Arthur Ashe Stadium is a four-level structure designed by Rossetti Associates Architects, the same Birmingham, Mich., firm that designed the stadium at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami, which is the home of the Nasdaq-100 Open and the USA Tennis High Performance offices. Arthur Ashe Stadium features state-of-the-art broadcast and audio systems, 90 luxury suites, five restaurants (including media and player dining), a two-level players' lounge, and individual seating for 22,547 fans.
Location
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Hours
The USTA National Tennis Center is open to the public seven days a week, 11 months a year and closes only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Direction
7 line stops at Willets Point/Shea Stadium, on Roosevelt Avenue in the northern part of the Park.
P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
P.S. 1 is an internationally renowned museum devoted to contemporary art. It is known for its avant-garde exhibits and for leading the alternative space movement. Artists actively collaborate with the administrators, and have studio space on site.
P.S. 1 is affiliated with MoMA, but has a much looser, crazier feel. Somehow P.S. 1 has managed to stay creative even as it has gained fame and become part of the established art world.
Location
P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, 22-25 Jackson Avenue (at the intersection of 46th Avenue) Long Island City, NY
(718) 784-2084
Hours
Open 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday through Monday
Closed on Tuesday and Wednesday
Direction
7 subway to 45 Road/Courthouse. Exit to Jackson and walk south to 46 Avenue. G subway to 21 Street/Jackson Avenue. Cross the street to the left for P.S. 1.
Admission
Suggested donation for admission is $5, For seniors and students it's $2, Admission is free for members.
How to See Queens
Elevated #7 Subway Tracks
The  line from 42nd St/Times Square to Main St, Flushing, Queens. The No. 7 train has become a symbol of modern immigration. The train's role in the history of American immigration was recognized last year when the federal government named it one of 16 "Millennium Trails," putting the subway line in the same category with such auspicious paths as the one Lewis and Clark blazed across the West. During a previous tide of immigration, at the turn of the 20th century, the No. 7 train served the throngs of Irish, Italians and eastern Europeans who came through Ellis Island. Many of them poured out of the shantytowns of Manhattan's Lower East Side and moved to the row houses of Queens.
Try to time your trip where at least one leg is during rush hour so you can enjoy the express ride from Queensboro Plaza to Main St (or vice versa in the AM rush). If you're going to stop for photos, consider Queensboro Plaza (multi-level elevated station transferring with the N train), 111th St (junction with Willets Point Yard, express track rises to a second level) and Willets Point/Shea Stadium (exit train onto footbridge into Flushing Meadows Park and cross over Willets Point Yard). The R-36 fleet has the accessible railfan window.
Tickets:
$7 for a one day Free Pass, $2 for a single ride, any distance. (with one free pass from bus to train or viceversa)
Bronx Tour for backpackers and tourists
Borough of Queens Tours start at 9:30am and should end at 3:30pm depending on traffic. Pick up is infront of the soccer field at Asphalt Green Park, between 90th and 91st Street on York Avenue, in Manhattan. The cost is 40 Dollars. Borough of Queens Tours will also have special events going on during the course of the tour's seasonal run (for example, the Hip Hop Festival in October)
The Tour: The first stop is the South Bronx--once the postage stamp of crime, urban blight and general despair, Borough of Queens Tours will take you to the Point Community Development Center, a place where cultural improvement has reigned for the past 11 years. It is a place where local plays, dances, and hip-hop festivals occur all throughout the year. There you will be given a presentation on the Point and on the community it serves. Next comes City Island, Co-op City (the nation's largest privately owned housing development) Arthur Avenue. The final stop of every tour is the stylish Blue Ox Bar in Mott Haven, where you can have a few beers under artwork created by local artists. Just remember you must be over 21 to drink, and passorts are required!!
For more information:
Sign up by emailing Mo at Moman@bronxtours.net giving your name, and the country where you are from. Pay online! Last minute sign ups must call Mo at 1-646-685-7725
The Free Bronx Tour Trolley
Catch the trolley every weekend-and weekday evenings during the holidays-when the trolley takes you to Borough of Queens Zoo, The New York Botanical Garden and Arthur Avenue, New York's True Little Italy. Or come aboard on the first Wednesday evening of the month for a cultural tour of visual and performing arts in the South Bronx.
For more information:
The Weekend & Holiday Trolley: The City of New York Parks & Recreation (718)430-1808
The First Wednesdays Bronx Culture Trolley: Bronx Council on the Arts (718)931-9500
Borough of Queens Tourism Council: (718)590-BRONX
Other Attractions
Rockaway Beach
With miles of beaches off the Rockaway Peninsula and many indoor and outdoor pools, you can cool off and have fun!
Queens has 7 1/2 miles of oceanfront beaches on the Rockaway Peninsula. The Boardwalk runs from Beach 9th Street on eastern end of the peninsula to Beach 126th Street. The beach continues westerly to Beach 149th Street.
For more information:
(718) 318-4000
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Interactive Bronx map
