Spread out over 11 acres, the Queens Zoo is home to more than 75 species of animals, all of which are indigenous to the Americas. The zoo, which is open 365 days a year, features winding paths and nature trails, where visitors come into contact with everything from pumas to bears to owls. In the waterway, sandhill cranes and ducks co-exist with alligators during the warm-weather months.

There is an outdoor aquatic area, where sea lions, walruses and seals swim, play, and dry themselves on rocks. (Feeding time always brings many human spectators.) One of the most famous aspects is the aviary, a large, caged area where parrots, turkeys, peacocks and sloths live with countless ducks and a few pigeons that have sneaked in from the outside. It was created out of the Winston Churchill Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair. Across a walkway is a petting farm with Andean llamas and alpacas, enormous cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, and horses.

Inside scoop: Just outside the zoo is a carousel with 64 jumping horses, a lion and a few chariots.

Photo credit: Julie Larsen Maher