Best Museums in Queens
All 21 museums I've visited in Queens, ranked best first on my 0–3 scale (how I rate). One earned my top “don't miss” rating — start with The Noguchi Museum. 17 are free. Part of every museum in NYC, ranked.
- 1.3
The Noguchi Museum
Don't miss · Astoria, Queens · $16 · Access: Moderate · I’d revisit“Awesome, in the middle of nowhere Astoria. Painful to get to from the UWS. Big space full of interesting sculptures and some paintings. Recommend.”
- 2.2
MoMA PS1
Worth a stop · Long Island City, Queens · Free · Access: Easy“Old school building, weird vibe, by design. Liked some exhibits, not all. The sky room is extremely peaceful and worth visiting on its own.”
- 3.2
Museum of Moving Image
Worth a stop · Astoria, Queens · $20 · Access: Easy“Huge collection of items from movies. Neat.”
- 4.2
Queens Botanical Garden
Worth a stop · Flushing, Queens · $6 · Access: Hard39 acres planted for the 1939 World's Fair, expanded for 1964 fair, offers themed gardens & events.
- 5.1
Bayside Historical Society
Interesting · Bay Terrace, Queens · Free · Access: Hard“A 'castle', really the officers' club from old Fort Totten. Weird vibe. Stop in if you're literally in front of it; otherwise not worth the trip.”
- 6.1
Bowne House
Interesting · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: Hard“Another historic house, but a fun Swarthmore connection: founded by a Quaker (or Quaker-adjacent) and most of the family archives ended up at Swat. Staff has been trying, unsuccessfully, to get them back, and may need to send people down to digitize what Swat hasn't yet.”
- 7.1
Godwin-Ternbach Museum
Interesting · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: HardQueens College museum with antiquities, paintings, and decorative arts spanning many cultures.
- 8.1
King Manor Museum
Interesting · Jamaica, Queens · Free · Access: Moderate“Another historic house, a little more interesting for the Queens history it tells.”
- 9.1
Louis Armstrong House Museum
Interesting · Corona, Queens · $10 · Access: ModerateGuided tours offered of the furnished house & gardens where the famed jazz trumpeter lived.
- 10.1
Museum of Urban Arts
Interesting · Long Island City, Queens · Free · Access: EasyLong Island City space showcasing contemporary urban and street art exhibitions.
- 11.1
Queens Historical Society
Interesting · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: ModerateThis 18th-century home features exhibits on Queens history & rooms with period furnishings.
- 12.1
Queens Museum
Interesting · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: Moderate“Decent-sized contemporary art museum. After the Brooklyn Museum I expected more; let down.”
- 13.1
SculptureCenter
Interesting · Long Island City, Queens · Free · Access: Moderate“Even more befuddling than the Dias, and this one had artist writeups. A cavernous gray room; without the map you'd never find the art, it blends right in.”
- 14.1
The Living Museum
Interesting · Bellerose, Queens · Free · Access: HardStudio and gallery at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center where current and former patients create art.
- 15.0
Fort Tilden
Skip · Breezy Point, Queens · Free · Access: Hard · I’d revisitThis former U.S. Army base is now a tranquil park with a beach & nesting areas for piping plovers.
- 16.0
Lewis Latimer House Museum
Skip · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: Moderate“Another historic house...”
- 17.0
Mets Hall of Fame & Museum
Skip · Flushing, Queens · Free · Access: Hard“Not much there, which to be fair, the Mets suck”
- 18.0
Socrates Sculpture Park
Skip · Astoria, Queens · Free · Access: Moderate“Ratty park with a few half-hearted, uninteresting sculptures.”
- 19.0
Underpenny Plane and Cast Iron Museum
Skip · Long Island City, Queens · Free · Access: Easy“Not sure if it's a pawn shop. The owner has thousands of 19th-century PA cast-iron trivets and a lot of hand planes. Trivets are for sale only because his wife won't let him keep that many. Total passion project.”
- 20.0
- 21.0
WHAM!
Skip · Woodside, Queens · Free · Access: EasyWoodside artist-run space with rotating contemporary exhibitions and community programs.