Travel in county Queens

The first cabin constructed in Kerlingarfjöll, a mountain range in central Iceland bracketed by two glaciers and threaded with geothermal steam, was completed in 1937 and gave hikers a launchpad from which to wander the otherworldly landscape. Then, in the ’60s, a summer ski school and hostel operated on its slopes. The school is long gone, but the adventuring spirit remains, and now intrepid travelers have a sophisticated new place to stay. The hospitality company Blue Lagoon Family — responsible for the first luxury hotel at Iceland’s famed Blue Lagoon — recently debuted Highland Base, a collection of accommodations that include that original cabin, seven salvaged rustic A-frames, six stand-alone lodges and a hotel with 46 rooms and two suites with their own hot tubs on private terraces. Picture windows in all of the rooms and lodges offer views of the surrounding terrain, which can be explored on foot in the summer and by snowmobile in winter. The hotel, about a three-hour drive from Reykjavík, will be open year round, though in the colder months visitors must hire a professional driver in a four-wheel-drive super jeep to reach the property, thanks to the unpaved highland roads. Once there, guests will find underground passageways connecting the hotel with the restaurant and thermal baths (scheduled to open this winter) to help them stay warm in between expeditions.

How do you love a bike?

National Geographic’s new epic adventure, Queens explores Alaska, Mexico, Central America and Africa to compellingly spotlight and celebrate animal matriarchies and female leaders in nature. This is an eye-opening opportunity for armchair travelers to spy extraordinary remote places and feel uplifted. Gorgeously filmed and edited, the seven-episode ground-breaking Queens is the first-ever wildlife series steered by a women-led production team. Narrated by award-winning actor and executive producer Angela Bassett, Queens revels in female resilience, fortitude, passion and dedication. “This series is about stepping into and holding onto your power,” says Bassett. “These animal queens show us how to be a truly great leader. Each episode tells the story of sacrifice and strength, but also friendship and love. Behind the scenes is an equally inspiring story four years in the making of incredible women from around the world. It has a message of courage and hope that’s close to my heart.” Queens premieres on National Geographic March 4; on Disney+ and Hulu March 5. In the trailer (below), which features Billie Eilish’s electropop hit, You Should See Me in a Crown, Bassett asserts, “The strongest females fight for the survival of their families. Chosen to lead for her instincts, charisma, wisdom. We don’t call her Mother Nature for nothing.”

Grapes have been associated with pleasure since ancient times, a symbol of Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry. These days, clusters of plummy Concords, oval autumn royals and dusky kyohos are decorating dinner tables, doubling as cornucopian decorations and low-effort snacks. “You can get a beautiful, imperfect drip and drape from grapes,” says the interior stylist Colin King, 35, who overflowed a marble urn with abundant mounds of them for the launch of his furniture collection, a collaboration with the Future Perfect, in New York this past fall. Although he uses green grapes for daytime parties, for evening events he prefers the “moody, sensual vibe” of dark varieties — like the attenuated, oblong moon drops that the artist Laila Gohar, 35, mixed with red globes and flames to form an edible monolith for the recent opening of the Essentiel Antwerp clothing store in New York. The chef Mina Stone, 42 — who runs Mina’s, the cafe at MoMA PS1 in Queens, and is a go-to caterer for art gallery dinners — favors Thomcords, a sweet, seedless hybrid she often serves with dessert to “provide heft and a colorful backdrop” for daintier confections. She also likes to roast grapes alongside seared duck breast. In London, the pastry chef Claire Ptak, the owner of Violet bakery, offers what she calls fragolina cupcakes, named for the fragola (Italian for “strawberry”) grapes that she cooks down, then purées and adds to the buttercream frosting. The fragolas “taste like a berryish Concord,” says Ptak, 49, who tops each cake with a small cluster of fruit. The frosted treats “transport you back to childhood when you take the first bite,” she says, “and then you realize they’re also very grown-up.” —

On a recent Thursday morning in Queens, travelers streamed through the exterior doors of La Guardia Airport’s Terminal C. Some were bleary-eyed — most hefted briefcases — as they checked bags and made their way to the security screening lines.

Looking for somewhere to take your dog in the winter weather? New York City is full of dog-friendly venues open year round, even when a run through the park is less than seasonable. Get out those zoomies, add some new sniffs and take your dog to cafes, shops, bars and gyms designed for and welcoming to dogs who need a little indoor stimulation.

After Hopper’s noisy breakups last year with Expedia Group and Booking.com, Hopper has a major hotel chain problem.

JOHN F. KENNEDY International Airport is a beacon from America’s largest city to the world. Located in Queens, New York, not far from Rockaway Beach and Arthur Ashe Stadium, the airport is a major hub for flights across the Atlantic, as well as continental flights in all directions. Due to its urban location, there is no defined “airport hotel village” at JFK like there is for hotels near the Denver airport – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great hotels near JFK Airport. These are the most convenient JFK Airport hotels with the best amenities and overall experience, whether you’re simply looking for an overnight before or after a long travel day or are in town for a few days and want to stay near the airport.

This story about Tibetan cuisine in Queens, New York is part of Home, Made, a collection of stories honoring Asian diasporas creating vibrant communities by weaving their heritages with their American hometowns. Read more here.

The most famous of New York City’s five boroughs is Manhattan. The hippest is Brooklyn. There’s the forgotten one (Staten Island) and the one that tourists only visit to go to a Yankees game (the Bronx). Then there’s the most interesting one: Queens, a borough of two-million-plus people and among the most ethnically diverse swathes of land in North America.

New York City is full of countless stories. While guidebooks offer a good introduction to this major destination, many other books that speak volumes about NYC’s history, neighborhoods, people, cultures, architecture, sports teams and many other aspects. Some titles may be works of fiction but Gotham is their setting.

Now that Airbnb has seen its listings numbers collapse in New York City because of a regulatory crackdown, the short-term rental company thinks boutique hotels can help fill the gap.

It’s been a busy week for JetBlue.

New Yorkers and visitors alike are blessed with convenient air access to and from numerous points away, thanks to the fact that New York shares nonstop flights with countless major cities and smaller hubs throughout the world. And if you haven’t been to New York City in the past few years, you might be surprised to find entirely new terminals, concourses, and modernization projects that have and are continuing to completely transform the three major hubs that serve the New York City area.

There have been plenty of headlines in the past few days about a lawsuit against an Airbnb guest in Brentwood, California, who has allegedly overstayed her reservation, which ended on March 19, 2022 —without paying rent for more than a year-and-a half.

Holiday tradition usually dictates staying home for a large gathering with the extended family. But celebrating away can be an exciting prospect. You might not think it, but spending the holidays somewhere else can be much less stressful than hosting or staying with relatives. A vacation rental provides a neutral territory and a much-needed break from your normal holiday routine. All you need to do is to choose a festive place to go. A good place to start is with the country’s most popular Christmas cities. New York City, Santa Claus, Williamsburg, Park City, and Santa Barbara are the most sought-after destinations in the US for the holidays, and these are the best family-friendly Christmas Airbnbs perfect for a Yuletide gathering.

A new update to the public transit system taking passengers from JFK Airport into New York City just got the «New York minute» treatment.

New York City was drowning in a deluge of rain on Friday, forcing airport terminals to close, delaying flights for hours, and flooding public transportation.

When you're after a beach in New York State, the glitz and glamor of the Hamptons and the old-school appeal of Coney Island – both in the vicinity of New York City – tend to steal the spotlight. But there are plenty more sandy havens to be found across the Empire State.

The fall is (in many ways) the perfect time to travel. With moderate but still comfortable temperatures, beautiful fall foliage, lower prices ahead of the holidays and fewer crowds coming out of summer, you can enjoy a memorable vacation at many destinations across the U.S. and around the world.

In late May, I flew with my daughter from California to Kennedy International Airport in New York, where I rented a car from Avis and headed to Connecticut for a three-day family visit. On day two, I parked the car in Waveny Park in New Canaan and when I returned, it was gone. The local police told me they had impounded the rental because Avis had reported it stolen to the New York Police Department. I had planned to spend the last day of my trip with my 80-something mother, whom I had not seen for three years because of the pandemic, but had to waste precious hours on hold with Avis’s customer service department. They eventually offered me a new car but I was unable to coordinate picking it up, so we ended up relying on my sisters to get around. I was only able to spend a few hours with my mom and had to take a $100 Uber back to the airport. I asked Avis not to charge me for the rental, but they did, $653, and when I disputed the charge with Capital One, Avis fought me. I can’t believe Avis is renting out cars they have reported stolen, and then charging its clients. Can you help?

Pride parties in the summer, Broadway shows in the fall, holiday magic in the winter, cherry blossoms galore in the spring…there’s never a bad time to visit New York City.