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Conquer the Avenue of Death and claim your reward: beer and a fantastic view.

Starting subway: E to Jamaica-Van Wyck

Ending subway: E, G, R, V to Queens Plaza

Distance: 8 miles

Time: 5 hours

Calories burned: 800

1. An eight-mile, 12-lane highway nicknamed the "Boulevard of Broken Bones" and the "Avenue of Death"--this is not the Zen Walk or the Stoner's Walk or the Romantic Walk. This is punishment. But you'll thank us afterward. Walking all of Queens Boulevard provides a minitour of New York City: ethnic, historical, lovely, ugly, scenic and bizarre. Starting on fast-food-heavy Jamaica Avenue, there's not much to see, but as you approach residential Briarwood, snap photos of the circus mural on 87th Avenue, which was featured in Coming to America. (It's not Annie Hall, but still.)

2. Russian grocery Berezka (138-03 at 84th Dr, 718-897-5577) carries nuts, figs and trail snacks. Grab some before entering Kew Gardens' bucolic, butterflied Maple Grove Cemetery, the burial site of reformer Jacob Riis's wife.

3. Detour left onto 82nd Road and walk two blocks to Austin Street, into a harsher reality. In 1964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death in the Kew Gardens train-station parking lot while 38 witnesses heard or watched from their windows and did nothing. Looking up at the ten-story apartment building, you can imagine yourself on both sides of the trauma.

4. More history, more drama. On the boulevard, Borough Hall (120-55 at 82nd Ave), site of the municipal offices, features the much-maligned sculpture Civic Virtue, in which a macho hero tramples over women. Faced with public outrage when it was positioned at City Hall in 1922, the statue was banished to Queens, where it decays quietly.

5. After all that: shopping! Forest Hills offers stylish boutiques such as Elizabeth Skin Care (110-56 between Ascan Ave and 73rd Rd, 718-520-0911), which carries chic Pre de Provence soaps from France. A left onto Ascan Avenue leads to Forest Hills Gardens, a planned community of graceful homes and tree-lined streets. Farther along Queens Boulevard, stop by the 50-year-old Knish Nosh (100-30 between 67th Ave and 67th
Rd, 718-897-5555) for a classic kasha.

6. After breezing through Rego Park into Elmhurst, cross the Boulevard--carefully--and you'll pass the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (54-05 Seabury St at 54th Ave, 718-639-3126), established in 1652 when Queens was farmland. At the Rogue Production Magic and Fun Shop (85-08 between Grand Ave and Van Loon St, 718-505-0316) a tad farther down, charismatic owner Rogue entertains visitors with magic tricks and a flaming wallet. Then, score costume jewelry and kitsch at the Italian Charities of America Flea Market (83-20 between Goldsmith and Van Loon Sts), held Saturdays in its bejeweled ballroom. (Read this entry again and remember what we said about bizarre.)

7. You've walked seven miles. You need a drink. The historically Irish Sunnyside, marked by the carnivalesque arch at 46th Street, is home to the Romanian bar Tailor's Hall (45-10 at 45th St, 718-706-1010), where Löwenbräu is served in medieval digs.

8. Walking toward the warehouses of LIC, you'll cross the tangled-train-tracked Sunnyside Yards. Approaching Queens Plaza, you'll feel strangely satisfied, the panoramic view a reward for being crazy enough to traverse NYC's largest borough by foot. --Craig Libman

From the Time Out New York Walks feature, May 2007