Queens Walking Tour

Globe at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Today after having a lazy morning I picked myself up out of bed and headed out to Queens for the first time. I decided to take Lonely Planet's advice and take the 7 Train from Grand Central. Also called the International Express, it takes you along a national "registered historical trail" riding above ground level through the longtime immigrant neighborhoods of Sunnyside (Romanian, Turkish), Woodside (Irish), Jackson Heights (Indian, Pilipino), Corona Heights (Italian, Peruvian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Mexican), and Flushing (Chinese, Korean). For me the highlight of the train ride from Manhattan into Flushing was going past 5 Pointz, considered to be the world’s “graffiti Mecca,” where people from around the world come to paint colorful aerosol artwork on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot factory building.

Once I got to the end of the line in Flushing I hopped off the train for a quick stroll through Chinatown before hopping back on to head to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a 1225-acre park built for the 1939 World Fair. When I arrived, by a happy coincidence, I stumbled upon a huge Colombian Independence Day festival. There were so many people and everyone was wearing the Colombian colors of yellow, blue, and red - much more vibrant than America's red, white, and blue. I wanted to have some food there but the lines were just too long for me and the vegetarian options were limited.

Colombian Independence Day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Once I walked through the park and festival I jumped back on the train for a couple of stops until I got to 103rd St-Corona Park (Corona named after the suburb, not the beer - but for all I know the burb could be names after the beer) for a long walk down Roosevelt Ave. This stretch of Roosevelt (I walked for 50 blocks) took me through the Hispanic center of Queens. Everything was written in Spanish and many of the people did not speak any English at all. That was fine by me though, I practiced my Spanish - "Quiero agua, por favor."

After 30 blocks Roosevelt was supposed to turn from Hispanic into Indian. At this point I saw maybe 3 Indian shops, and one Arab shop. It seems as though the Hispanic area has expanded since Sept 2008 when the Lonely Planet New York was last updated, right in the midst of the Great Recession. Anyways, I kept walking for another 20 blocks for no apparent reason, although I am glad I did - I ended up finding a store that was selling sweet Rip Curl board shorts for only $5. I bought Russell 2 pair since most of his are pretty torn up.

Walking down Roosevelt Ave., Queens

After fifty blocks of walking I was ready to get back on the train and headed to Manhattan and Grand Central. Once in Grand Central I discovered where the whispering room is located. There were a bunch of people trying it out. I can't wait to have visitors around to try that with me... I also ate my dinner at Grand Central - delicious Indian food. My favorite part was the potato somosa with chuntey. Delicious! After eating my dinner I grabbed a super mini vanilla cheesecake to take home from the Magnolia Bakery. After that, I headed home.

Oh and the cheesecake was delicious!

A map of my Queens walking tour:


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