Travel Guide New York, Queens

Slightly less populated than Brooklyn with 2.3 million inhabitants, much safer than the Bronx, Queens is by its size the largest borough in New York (one third of the total area of the city). The quintessential bedroom community, this enormous borough nevertheless has a few neighborhoods that tourists will be happy to visit. More and more tourists are staying there, taking advantage of the fact that the accommodation on offer is much cheaper than in Manhattan. In recent years, some areas of Queens have been gentrifying at a rapid pace. You only have to walk along the East River in Long Island City, where luxury condos with views of the skyline are springing up like mushrooms, to see this. In Astoria, home to the world's largest Greek diaspora, coffee shops have replaced decades-old Greek businesses. But outside of these few neighborhoods recently taken over by yuppies and hipsters, this borough remains the kingdom of the middle classes. With its Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Hindu and Colombian communities, Queens is the county with the largest number of nationalities in the United States. It is home to a large Asian community, 28% Hispanic, while 56% of its residents communicate in a language other than English. Chances are you'll be transiting through this borough, as it is home to two airports, JFK and LaGuardia. Cosmopolitan and diverse, Queens is probably the borough that most closely matches the image of the New York melting pot.