Parks: Socrates Sculpture Park
Want to see art on the weekend but don’t really feel like staying indoors? Well you can cover both at the Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria. Named in honor of Socrates, the Greek philosopher, the name is a tribute to Astoria, which holds the largest Greek community in New York City.
This outdoor museum and park features a variety of modern sculptures and multi-media installations and exhibits in a sprawling grass lawn with a view of the East River and Roosevelt Island.
Athens Square
Also named in homage to Astoria’s Greek roots, this small park features various iconography and monuments from ancient Greece. There are Greek statutes, an amphitheater, and even live music and dancing, with Greek nights every Tuesday and Italian nights every Wednesday.
Astoria Park
Image via NYC Parks and Recreation
Widely known for its outdoor pool–the largest and oldest in the city–Astoria Park is a beautiful, quaint riverside park that offers a lovely vantage point of Manhattan. In addition to the pools, which were used for qualifying events for the 1936 and 1964 Olympics, the park has numerous tennis courts, a skate park, and a running track. Astoria Park also encompasses both the Hell Gate Bridge and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (Triboro Bridge), providing unique vantage points for both the bridges.