Top Attractions in Queens

Forest Park

Forest Park is the third largest park in Queens. It is surrounded by five ethnically diverse neighborhoods, Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, and Glendale.

Fort Totten Park

A pristine stretch surrounding a preserved Civil War fortress, Fort Totten Park provides not only recreation and relaxation but a fascinating glimpse into New York’s past.

Gantry Park

The Friends of Gantry Park is a community-based organization that formed out of an appreciation for this special public place on the Queens waterfront.
Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of Long Island City by promoting awareness, concern and participation for the publicly accessible green and open spaces in the neighborhood and the waterfront.

Greater Astoria Historical Society

The Greater Astoria Historical Society, chartered in 1985, is a non-profit organization supported by the Long Island City community. We are dedicated to preserving our past and using it to promote our community’s future. The Society hosts field trips, walking tours, slide presentations, and guest lectures to schools and the public.

Greek Cultural Center, Inc.

The Greek Cultural Center, Inc. (GCC) is a non-profit organization that opened its doors in 1974. Offering productions in theater, music, folk dance, shadow Puppet Theater, and workshops for all ages, the GCC constantly and consistently strives to ensure that each member of the Greek American community has the opportunity to express themselves creatively through their own inclinations and aptitudes, be educated and informed about culture, and explore their roots and traditions.

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge — part of Gateway National Recreation Area — is the only wildlife refuge in the national park system.
Jamaica Center of the Arts & Learning

Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning is a 37-year-old multidisciplinary urban arts center located in the diverse community of Southeast Queens. More than 25,000 people of all ages and backgrounds participate in our wide array of education, performing arts, and visual arts programs annually.

Juniper Valley Park

One of Queens’s most beloved parks, Juniper Valley Park is an integral part of its Middle Village neighborhood. Locals come to spend time with old friends and neighbors while groups gather to take full advantage of the tennis, handball, and basketball courts. A shuffleboard court is much beloved by the area’s older members, and the bocce courts are always busy, a legacy of the neighborhood’s active Italian community.

King Manor Museum

The centerpiece of an 11-acre New York City park in Jamaica, Queens, King Manor Museum was the home and farm of Founding Father Rufus King from 1805 to 1827. Rufus King was an author of the U.S. Constitution, as well as one of New York’s first United States Senators, Ambassador to Great Britain, and an early, and outspoken, opponent of slavery.  King Manor later became the estate of King’s son, John Alsop King, who served as New York’s Governor. King Manor has been a museum since 1900.

Kupferberg Center Performances at Queens College

Kupferberg Center Performances is part of the Selma and Max Kupferberg Center for the Visual and Performing Arts at Queens College. Since 1961, Kupferberg Center Performances (formerly Colden Center) has been enriching the cultural environment of the greater metropolitan community by providing affordable, high-quality performances for families and general audiences, and school concerts and residencies for children in kindergarten through high school.

LaGuardia Performing Arts Center

The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC), at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, is committed to presenting culturally and ethnically diverse programming of the highest quality for the College community, the residents of Queens, and the tri-state area.  With technical features that rival those of many theaters in Manhattan, and a location, which makes it easily accessible from Midtown, LPAC-the largest theater of its kind in Western Queens-has quickly found its place within the city’s rich array of cultural resources.

Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center

The Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center of the Queens Borough Public Library, conceived and designed by the residents of the Corona-East Elmhurst community, opened for public service on April 26, 1969 as a federally funded special project of the Queens Library. It was staffed and operated by the Library Action Committee of Corona-East Elmhurst, Inc. until it became an official branch of the Queens Library in October 1987. Today, the Board of Directors, L.A.C., serves in an advisory capacity, promoting the programs and services of the Library Center and conducts fundraising campaigns.

Lewis H. Latimer House Museum

The Lewis H. Latimer House was constructed in the Queen Anne style from 1887-1889 by the Sexton family, sometimes called the Latimer House or the Lewis Latimer House, was the home of American inventor Lewis Latimer from 1903 – 1928 and is now operated as a museum to the inventor’s work. The house remained the property of the Latimer family until 1964. The house is owned by the New York City Parks Department, operated by the Lewis H. Latimer Fund, Inc and a member of the Historic House Trust.

Louis Armstrong House Museum

The mission of the Louis Armstrong House Museum is:  1. To operate the Louis Armstrong House, a national historic landmark and a New York City landmark, as a historic house museum.  2. To arrange, preserve, catalog, and make available to the public the materials held in its collections.  3. To collect, arrange, preserve, catalog, and make available to the public additional materials relating to the life and career of Louis Armstrong.  4. To serve as a reference source for information about Louis Armstrong.  5. To present public programs, such as concerts and lectures, that preserve and promote the cultural legacy of Louis Armstrong.

Museum of the Moving Image

Founded in 1981, Museum of the Moving Image is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology and social impact of film, television and digital media. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artifacts; screens hundreds of films annually; and offers education programs to thousands of New York City students and teachers. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition, Behind the Screen—are noted for their integration of material objects, computer-based interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations.

New York Hall of Science

The New York Hall of Science occupies one of the few remaining structures of the 1964 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City. Today, it stands as New York City’s only hands-on science and technology center. The more than 450 hands-on exhibits explore biology, chemistry and physics.

P.S.1 Contemporary Arts Center

P.S.1 presents over 50 exhibitions each year, including artists’ retrospectives, site-specific installations, historical surveys, arts from across the United States and the world, and a full schedule of music and performance programming.

Queens Borough Performing Arts Center

The Queensborough Performing Arts Center is a hub for multi-cultural dance, music, theatre, opera, classical music, Broadway, celebrity and children’s entertainment.

Queens Botanical Garden

The Queens Botanical Garden, a living museum serving the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, is committed to presenting collections, education and research initiatives and programs that demonstrate environmental stewardship, promote sustainability and celebrate the rich cultural connections between people and plants.

Queensbridge Park

This park is named for the nearby Queensboro Bridge, which is also known as the Queensbridge or 59th Street Bridge. The 1960s band Simon and Garfunkel made the bridge famous in their song “Feelin’ Groovy,” also called “The 59th Street Bridge Song.”

Queens Council on the Arts

Queens Council on the Arts assists arts organizations and individual artists with direct services through professional development, grant programs, and the promotion of the borough’s diverse cultural resources for the benefit of Queens residents, the larger New York City population, and its many national and international visitors through programs like the Queens Art Express and Live at the Gantries.

Queens County Farm Museum

The Queens County Farm Museum’s history dates back to 1697; it occupies New York City’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland and is the only working historical farm in the City. The farm encompasses a 47-acre parcel that is the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. The site includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard and herb garden.
Our farm animals and tranquil agrarian environment provide the opportunity to leave the hectic daily pace behind for an enjoyable visit to a  farm without leaving the City.

Queens Crossing

Designed by world-renowned architects and engineers, the Thorton Tomasetti Group, Queens Crossing features a bold yet elegant architectural design that enhances its urban surroundings with a distinctive street presence. Behind its graceful curvilinear facade, the building contains 110,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 37,000 sq. ft. entertainment and dining areas, a full-floor community facility, and 144,000 sq. ft. office condominiums, all served by 86,000 sq. ft. of valet parking.

Queens Historical Society Kingsland Homestead

The Queens Historical Society (QHS) is the historical society for the largest borough in New York City and is dedicated to preserving the history of Queens through educational programs, exhibitions and its role as a local history research center. The Society publishes a quarterly newsletter and offers a regular series of lectures, programs and slide presentations on subjects relating to Queens and its history. In addition, the Society cooperates closely with and serves as a resource for local preservation groups and historical societies throughout Queens and the City of New York.

Queens Museum of Art

The Museum fulfills its mission by designing and providing art exhibitions and educational experiences that promote the appreciation and enjoyment of art, support the creative efforts of artists, and enhance the quality of life through interpreting, collecting, and exhibiting art, architecture, and design.

Queens Symphony Orchestra

Constantine Kitsopoulos, Music Director. Founded in 1953 and in our 57th season, Queens Symphony Orchestra is the borough’s only professional orchestra and the oldest and largest professional arts organization in Queens. QSO is comprised of union musicians who also perform regularly on Broadway, with the New York City Ballet and other freelance orchestras. QSO has several programs that enhance the musical offerings to the borough of Queens, presenting 10 to 20 concerts throughout the year.

Queens Theatre in the Park

Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP) is the premier performing arts venue in Queens. QTP’s mission is to provide quality and diverse performing arts activities that are economically and geographically accessible to the 2.2 million residents of Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, and the surrounding metropolitan region.  To foster greater cultural awareness and appreciation, the Theatre presents and produces programs that reflect this diversity and features international, national, and local artists.

Queens Zoo

Spectacular American wildlife is just minutes away at the Queens Zoo, a Wildlife Conservation Society park.  From burly bison to majestic mountain lions, tree-climbing spectacled bears to graceful sea lions, visitors to this magnificent 11-acre Zoo can see more than 40 wildlife species in naturalistic habitats.  The Queens Zoo is the perfect place to connect with nature and learn more about our national wildlife heritage.

Redbird Tourist Information Center

The Red Bird Visitors Center, housed inside a 1950’s red subway car, is located on the front lawn of Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd.  It is open weekdays only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is handicapped accessible. The Center gets the word out about local development corporations, business improvement districts, restaurants, attractions, chambers of commerce, neighborhoods and transportation routes.

Rockaway Artists Alliance

Rockaway Artists Alliance, Inc. (RAA) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) arts organization comprised of individuals who view the arts as vital to the health of our community. Formed in 1994, it is our mission to encourage and engage residents of Rockaway, particularly our youth, in the arts and cultural activities

Sculpture Center

Founded by artists in 1928, SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to experimental and innovative developments in contemporary sculpture. SculptureCenter commissions new work and presents exhibits by emerging and established, national and international artists.

Socrates Sculpture Park

Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale work in a unique environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks, and the public. The Park’s existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization, and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity, and improvement of our urban environment.

Space Womb

Space Womb, founded in 2009 and located in Long Island City, New York, is a contemporary art gallery that exhibits abstract works of emerging and established artists from around the world.  The gallery’s primary goal is to bring different perspectives to the audience while helping to develop artists’ careers in the industry.  The gallery also aims to connect and share artists’ work with international art institutions.

Thalia Spanish Theatre

Established in 1977, Thalia Spanish Theatre celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of Spanish and Latin American culture with unique productions of plays, musicals, and dance.

The Chocolate Factory Theater

The Obie Award-winning Chocolate Factory Theater supports the creation of new work in a variety of disciplines including theater, dance, music, multimedia and the visual arts. The Factory’s 5,000 square foot facility is home to new work by the company’s founding artists, and provides support to visiting artists in the form of multi-week creative residencies; dedicated access to space and technical equipment free of charge; marketing, press, and administrative assistance; commissioning support; and a guaranteed artist fee.

The Noguchi Museum

Noguchi ReINstalled comprises some 200 works dating from the 1920s to the 1980s, installed in accordance with Noguchi’s aesthetic vision, rather than by date, genre, style, or any other overall organizing principle. As always at the Museum, the sculpture is displayed so that proximity is not restricted by platforms, barriers, or distance, enabling visitors to both walks around the works and study them closely.

The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House

The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, located in Ridgewood on the border of Queens and Brooklyn, is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City. Peter Stuyvesant granted the land it sits on in the mid-seventeenth century, and by 1660, Hendrick Barents Smidt occupied a small house on the site.  In 1709, Paulus Vander Ende of Flatbush purchased the farm and began construction of the current house.  The building was a prominent marker in the 1769 settlement of the boundary dispute between Bushwick in Kings County and Newtown in Queens County.

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels.

VOELKER ORTH MUSEUM

The Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden has as its purpose to perpetuate Elisabeth Orth’s interest in preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Queens and Long Island and to disseminate knowledge in these areas for the benefit of the ever-changing population of these communities.

York College Performing Arts Center

The College features a 1358 Main Stage theater and a 152 seat Little Theater. Our performance venues and expert production staff can accommodate the most challenging of productions as well as the most intimate.