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Heading to Queens for the US Open? Here are 5 non-tennis things to do in Flushing Meadows.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Aug 25, 2026
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VIEW press/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Aug 25, 2026
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The US Open on Monday returned to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park. For many attendees, the park is quite a journey from home – so why not arrive ahead of the match and enjoy what else Flushing Meadows has on offer?
The neighborhood is known for the remaining relics of the 1964 World’s Fair like the Unisphere and the Towers of Tomorrow, which can be fun to ogle, but there’s also plenty of family-friendly entertainment on offer, as well as music history. Below are five non-tennis ways to make the most of the area while you’re there.
Visit the Home For Retired Playground Animals
In 2023, NYC Parks unveiled a new home for “retiring” animal sculptures no longer fit to be climbed on. The concrete creatures hail from playgrounds across the city and include an aardvark, a camel, two dolphins and more, all now cohabitating together in their sunset years. “Offer congratulations and well-wishes,” encourages a delightful sign explaining the grove’s purpose and warning visitors against climbing on the animals, as “they’ve had enough.”
In the middle of United Nations Ave. N., just northwest of the Herbert Hoover Promenade in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Play mini golf
There are two mini golf courses to choose between. Rocket Park Mini Golf is located on the campus of the New York Hall of Science and, over the course of its nine holes, teaches players about the science of spaceflight. Meanwhile, to the east of the National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows Pitch & Putt offers an 18-hole course more classically adorned with waterfalls, bridges and streams. It’s available for not just day play but is also lighted for after-dark golfing.
New York Hall of Science (47-01 111th St., Queens) and 100 Flushing Meadows Park
See The Panorama
Built by a team of over 100 people for the 1964 World’s Fair, the Panorama of the City of New York is an enormous, scale model of all five boroughs of the city. It fills the floor of an entire vast room, and spectators can peer down at it from above. The Panorama is located inside the Queens Museum, and while it’s considered the start of the institution, there are other rotating exhibits, including permanent ones about the World’s Fair.
Queens Museum, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Have a bite at the Queens Night Market
On select Saturdays during the warm weather months, the Queens Night Market transforms the area behind the New York Hall of Science into a feast of diverse foods provided by various vendors, many with impressively affordable offerings. There’s cuisine from Sierra Leone to Bangladesh, Burma to Brazil on offer.
Behind the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadow Corona Park
Tour the Louis Armstrong House Museum
Very close to the park is the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which offers intimate, 10-person tours of the very home where Satchmo resided for almost 30 years. Today it is part of a three-building campus that also includes the Louis Armstrong Center and the donated home of Armstrong’s neighbor, Selma Heraldo. The campus contains a store, a garden, and a 60,000-piece archive of materials from both Armstrong’s personal and professional life, as well as limited-time exhibitions.
34-56 107th St., Queens
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Hannah Frishberg
Hannah Frishberg covers New York City arts and culture. Got a tip? Email Hannah at [email protected].
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