Astoria, Residential neighborhood in Queens, United States
Astoria is a residential neighborhood in northern Queens, New York, situated along the East River with a mix of apartment buildings, row houses, and tree-lined side streets. Its main commercial avenues run parallel through the area and connect grocery stores, restaurants, parks, and small shops within walking distance of one another.
The area was named in 1839 after John Jacob Astor, a New York merchant who bought land there and began developing it. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, waves of Greek and other European immigrants settled here and gradually shaped the neighborhood's character.
The main avenues are lined with Greek bakeries, Egyptian coffee shops, and Brazilian restaurants that have served the same streets for decades. On warm days, people pull chairs outside and sit together, making the sidewalks feel like extensions of their living rooms.
Several subway lines connect the neighborhood directly to Manhattan, and local bus routes cover the streets in between. The terrain is flat and the grid is easy to follow, so exploring on foot is a natural way to move around.
A film studio operating in the heart of the neighborhood has been running since the 1920s and is one of the oldest active studios in the country. People walking along the surrounding streets sometimes catch a glimpse of production vehicles and equipment parked just outside its gates.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
