Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the five boroughs of New York City, and the second most populous, with a population of 2,405,464 as of the 2020 census.
Since 1899 the borough is coextensive with Queens County, the second-most populous county in New York state, behind Kings County (Brooklyn). If Queens were its own city, it would be the fourth most-populous in the United States, after the other four boroughs of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated borough in New York City and the fourth-most densely populated U.S. county.
Worth seeing
Queens is quite diverse in density and character. While western Queens (closer to Manhattan) is urban, much of eastern Queens is relatively suburban. As in every borough, the closer you get to Manhattan, the rarer it is to find a stand-alone house. The more urban clusters are in the northwest: Astoria and Long Island City (LIC).
Things to do
Watch a New York Mets game at Citi Field - Flushing Go to the U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing. You can also visit the beach without leaving Queens, as the Ramones put it, "we can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach." Rockaway Beach (on the Atlantic Ocean) is actually a fine stretch of relatively unpolluted sand on a narrow peninsula linked by bridge (bicycle…
Where to eat
The snobby feel of Manhattan may not always make it to Queens, which is one of its great appeals for those who live there. There are a few top-notch bars in Queens, but it's the restaurants that really shine, for a simple reason: If Manhattan food is Yuppie food, Queens food is created by and aimed towards genuine ethnic inhabitants. To put it another way, come here if you like spicy food.
Getting around Queens the local way
- Get inThe East River Ferry makes stops in both north and south Williamsburg.
From Wikivoyage: Brooklyn/Williamsburg, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.