If you're interested in taking a walking tour of Queens you have to make a few choices for starters, given the fact that the borough is the largest in New York, and the second largest borough in population behind Brooklyn with 2.2 million residents. To shrink the borough down for the purposes of a walking tour that would be interesting to do and one which could be accomplished in a day, the best advice would be to start in the very heart of Queens in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
By taking the #7 train from Manhattan to 111th Street Station, it is only a short four-block walk downhill on 111th Street until you arrive at the entrance to Flushing Meadows Park, the second largest park in the New York metropolitan area, and the site of the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, the 1964-65 New York World's Fair and the annual US Open Tennis Championships at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center. Your first spectacular attraction to behold lies at the very epicenter of the park— so stroll toward the center of the park to behold the Unisphere, the world's largest global structure, rising 140 feet high, 120 feet wide, and weighing 700,000 pounds. This marvelous structure was designed by the US Steel Corporation as the theme symbol for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair to celebrate the beginning of the space age and is one of the true architectural wonders of the greater New York metropolitan area.
From this central location you can proceed over to the nearby Queens Museum of Art located inside the park which houses a number of valuable and historically interesting items: the 1939-40 and 1964-65 New York World's Fair Archives, the impressive Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Art, New York Noir: Crime Photos from the New York Daily News, The Panorama of the City of New York built by Robert Moses for the 1964 World's Fair, selections from the Salvador Dali: Dream of Venus, as well as an ongoing schedule of current exhibitions.
Since you probably don't want to spend the entire day in the park, we would encourage you (weather permitting) to take a stroll down a few streets to get a flavor for a typical Queens neighborhood en route to the home of one of its most famous lifelong residents, jazz great Louis Armstrong, which is located roughly eight blocks from the northwestern corner of Flushing Meadows Park. On the way you should notice another important fact about the borough of Queens on your way there. Unlike Manhattan, the grid-like structure of the streets and avenues is the exact opposite of how they align in Manhattan. In Queens the avenues run east to west, while the streets run north to South. Walking north on 111th Street, take a left at 37th Avenue and the fourth street you pass on your right is the street where you will find the Louis Armstrong House.
In 1943, Louis and his wife, Lucille, settled in a modest house in Corona, Queens, where they lived for the rest of their lives. No one has lived in the house since the Armstrongs, and the house and its furnishings remain exactly as they were during Louis and Lucille’s lifetime. Today, the Louis Armstrong House Museum is open to the public every day in the afternoon hours, offering guided tours of Louis’s longtime home. On the tour, audio clips from Louis’s homemade recordings are played, and visitors hear Louis practicing his trumpet, enjoying a meal, or talking with his friends. Visitors also get to enjoy an exhibit on Louis’s life and legacy, and the Armstrongs’ beautiful Japanese-inspired garden.
After your brief visit to the home of legendary Louis Armstrong you can return to the northern border of Flushing Meadows Park in the late afternoon and have a look at a major piece of sports history in the making. The demolition of historic Shea Stadium gave way to the construction of the New York Mets' new home, Citi Field Stadium, located one block east of the former site of Shea Stadium at 126th Street (on Roosevelt Avenue near the Van Eyck Expressway). Originally planned as part of New York City's 2012 summer Olympics bid, the stadium features unprecedented sightlines, amenities, and comfort for Mets fans, sports fans and visitors to the New York metropolitan area. Citi Field features natural grass, seating capacity for approximately 45,000 fans (slightly smaller seating capacity than Shea Stadium), and a contoured seating configuration that brings spectators closer to the field on all levels. This feature also provides a more intimate and entertaining experience throughout the park. 42% of the ballpark's seats are located in the Concourse (or lowest) seating level.
The best to negotiate your way from the Louis Armstrong House to your final destination, Queens Botanical Garden, is to head back the way you came from Flushing Meadows Park. Turning left (east) on Roosevelt Avenue, you will pass by Casey Stengel Plaza and see the former site of Shea Stadium on your left. Continuing farther you will see the new Citi Field stadium on your right, and then you turn right on Main Street and head a few short blocks south where you arrive at your destination.
From thematic gardens and historic plantings recalling Queens Botanical Garden’s World’s Fair origins to new gardens under way showcasing native species and sustainable landscape practices, the collections represent the expert horticultural knowledge, artistry, and commitment to environmental education and public service that have been hallmarks of Queens Botanical Gardens for more than 60 years. The QBG continues to welcome an international audience with rose, bee, herb, and perennial floral displays.
Due to the indoor/outdoor nature of this brief tour of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park area, we advise that it be carried out during the spring, summer, or early fall seasons of the year in New York City. If correctly followed, all the above mentioned sites and attractions can be viewed during the course of an afternoon, leaving you time to head back into Manhattan on the #7 train at 111th Street and enjoy dinner and perhaps some form of evening entertainment.
If you'd like to attend a Broadway show after your tour of the culturally diverse borough of Queens, please have a look at our Broadway Tickets offerings for some truly exciting performances or visit our Broadway Theater District Guide for additional information.