Astoria: Little Egypt, a Czech beer garden, Hell Gate and Greek Ditmars: a walk in New York City

A Queens walk through three immigrant Astorias: the Egyptian and Arab cafes of Steinway Street, the Czech and Slovak beer garden of 1910, and the Greek tavernas of Ditmars Boulevard, with Astoria Park's WPA pool and the Hell Gate Bridge, model for Sydney's harbour bridge, in between.

Best time: Late afternoon into evening: Steinway St's cafes get busy after dark, the beer garden fills from late afternoon, and Shore Boulevard faces west for sunset over the Hell Gate; finish with a Greek dinner on Ditmars

The route, stop by stop

1
Little Egypt, Steinway Street
Steinway St between 28th Ave and Astoria Blvd, where Arabic shops, restaurants and cafes opened from the 1990s. Walk north from 28th Ave and look for Egyptian-style seafood at Sabry's (24-25), the family-run Kebab Cafe (25-12), Levant (25-64, bread baked daily) and hookah at Sands of Persia (25-01). From N/W Astoria Blvd or R/M Steinway St. 30 min.
2
Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
29-19 24th Ave. Clubhouse of the Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society (founded 1892 for Czech and Slovak immigrants), built 1910 to Frank Chmelik's design and on the National Register since 2001. Big indoor and outdoor bar for about 800 people, Czech food and Czech and Slovak beers. Vaclav Havel visited in 2000. 40 min.
The city's oldest surviving beer garden, opened by Czech and Slovak immigrants in 1910 and still run by their benevolent society: more than a hundred picnic tables under the…
3
Astoria Park and Astoria Pool
About 60 acres on the Hell Gate strait between the RFK (Triborough) Bridge and the Hell Gate Bridge. The WPA pool of 1936, 330 by 165 feet, hosted the Olympic swimming trials in 1936, 1952 and 1964; a USD 19 million renovation was completed in June 2024. Walk down to Shore Boulevard on the water. 25 min.
4
Hell Gate Bridge view (Shore Boulevard)
Dedicated 9 March 1917 (engineer Gustav Lindenthal, architect Henry Hornbostel), the world's longest steel arch until the Bayonne Bridge of 1931, and the inspiration for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It still carries Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to the Bronx. Best from the north end of Shore Blvd at sunset. 15 min.
5
Taverna Kyclades (Astoria)
Walk east along Ditmars Blvd, heart of Greek Astoria since the 1960s (with Cypriots after 1974): tavernas, bakeries, cafes and Greek Orthodox churches. End with grilled fish at Taverna Kyclades, 36-01 Ditmars Blvd; expect a wait at peak times. Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N/W) is two blocks away. 40 min.
Busy Greek seafood taverna at the end of the N/W line in Astoria; grilled octopus, whole fish and galaktoboureko on the house.

Walking directions

Astoria: Little Egypt, a Czech beer garden, Hell Gate and Greek Ditmars

The route, stop by stop

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