Astoria Park Sunset Under Hell Gate, Then Cocktails at The Last Word
Catch the afterglow and blue hour under two bridges on a Queens slope, then walk Ditmars Blvd to a candlelit cocktail bar.
🗺️ Slope to Speakeasy, 20 Minutes Apart
🌇 Stay Past Sunset for the Blue Hour
Astoria Park's gently sloping hill looks across the East River toward Randall's Island and northern Manhattan, and NYC Parks lists it among the city's best places to watch the sun go down. Settle on the grass near the water, with the red steel arch of the Hell Gate Bridge on one side and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge on the other. Stay past sunset for the blue hour, when the sky turns violet and the lights along the RFK Bridge and across the river in Manhattan start to reflect on the water. Now and then a train rumbles over the arch.
🍸 Order the Drink the Bar Is Named For
From the waterfront, walk east along Ditmars Boulevard for about 20 minutes, trading river air for a candlelit bar room. The Last Word at 31-30 Ditmars Blvd opened in summer 2016 and takes its name from a gin-based pre-Prohibition cocktail, so the namesake makes an easy first order, with fresh oysters and empanadas on the menu. Happy hour runs 5 to 10 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 5 to 7 PM on Thursdays and 3 to 8 PM on weekends.
⏱️ Blue Hour First, Then Sunday Jazz
Sunset in Astoria comes at 4:52 PM on November 1 and 4:44 PM on November 8, per the U.S. Naval Observatory, so aim to reach the park 20 to 30 minutes before. After the light fades, the 20-minute walk brings you to The Last Word, which opens at 5 PM Tuesday through Friday and 3 PM on weekends and is closed on Mondays. On Sundays, blue hour by the bridges rolls straight into a candlelit jazz set that starts at 7 PM. The N train stops at Astoria–Ditmars Blvd, a few minutes from the bar.
