Queens is the second-most populated borough in the city of New York, and its parks and beaches are huge draws in the summer. However, when Mother Nature makes outdoor activities uncomfortable, Queens offers numerous indoor attractions like shopping, ethnic eating, museums and even ice skating.
Museums
- Manhattan has more famous museums like the Guggenheim and Metropolitan, but Queens has its share of highly respected art houses. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has a sister museum in Long Island City, MoMA: PS1, that is hipper and younger than its Midtown sibling. The Museum of the Moving Image, which completed its $67 million expansion in 2011, is a media museum on the campus of Kaufman Astoria Studios, which has been used by such films as "Goodfellas" and "Hair" and by television shows like "Sesame Street." Other notable museums include Queens Museum of Art and the New York Hall of Science.
Shopping Centers
- Most people associate SoHo, Herald Square and Fifth Avenue with New York City shopping, but Queens has several of the city’s largest indoor shopping centers. The Queens Center Mall is the borough’s largest at nearly 1 million square feet, and as of 2009, it was one of the top five most profitable malls in the country. Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and H&M are among the top retail brands filling the massive complex in the Elmhurst neighborhood. The Queens Place Mall is just a block away with another 440,000 square feet of retail shopping with stores like Best Buy and Target. Opened in late 2010, the new Sky View Mall in Flushing has 30,000 square feet of restaurants and 800,000 square feet of retail shopping, including usual suspects like Old Navy and Bed Bath & Beyond. Located in Queens' Chinatown, the mall stands out for its many Asian-themed shops and markets.
Restaurants
- Queens is considered the most ethnically diverse borough in the most ethnically diverse city in the U.S. This makes for incredibly authentic and delicious culinary experiences. Astoria is arguably the most popular neighborhood for upscale ethnic cuisine with particularly strong Greek, Cypriot, Italian and Egyptian restaurants, while Jackson Heights is home to Little Colombia and Little India. The 7 subway train, which stretches from Long Island City to Flushing in Queens, is called the "International Express" because it passes through Chinese, Indian, Irish, Turkish, Romanian, Mexican, Italian and other neighborhoods which all provide authentic dining experiences.
Ice Skating
- Central Park and Rockefeller Center are the iconic ice skating parks in Manhattan during the winter, but Queens has indoor skating all year long. The Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a huge complex with a theater, tennis center, botanical garden, zoo, museums and the Citi Field baseball stadium. Its World Ice Arena offers freestyle skating, hockey camps, private lessons, theater on ice and several other activities. Its sister site, the City Ice Pavilion, has similar activities in Long Island City. Both ice rinks are open throughout the year.
