21 Visit a luxury fortune-teller. There are a lot of fortune-tellers and ad hoc healers in Queens, but El Indio Amazonico (86-26 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights; 718-779-9390) is el rey—as the piles of crutches in his office “waiting room,” supposedly thrown away by former clients, attest. The ancient Colombian, who sports a six-inch feather through his nose, is pricey—as high as $1,000. But then, as he reminds you, “the future is not cheap.”

Miles of aisles at Steinway Salvation Army.

22 Hit a vintage clothes store that hasn’t been picked through. The mere size of the Steinway Salvation Army (34-02 Steinway St., Long Island City; 718-472-2414) increases the chances of striking pay dirt: At 17,440 square feet, it’s by far the largest in the city.

23 Discover the Queens arts scene. The SculptureCenter (44-19 Purves St., Long Island City; 718-361-1750) is a great place to spot young talent on the way up. The Maya Lin–designed interior has hosted such playful projects as Olav Westphalen’s miniature-blimp derby, Patrick Killoran’s clear plastic port-a-potty, and the do-it-yourself “Paper Sculpture Show.”

24 Explore New York’s other Chinatown. The trouble with restaurants that use adjectives for names is that they seldom live up to them. At Spicy & Tasty (39-07 Prince St., Flushing; 718-359-1601), the title is, if anything, an understatement. You can’t go wrong with complex, powerfully spiced Sichuan standards like homestyle bean curd, dry-cooked string beans, dan-dan noodles, and twice-cooked pork.

25 Host your next big party in a beautiful ballroom. Forget the Puck Building. For a lot less money and hassle, you can spend an evening in the recently restored and beautifully fenestrated Second Empire ballroom of the Poppenhusen Institute (114-04 14th Rd., College Point; 718-358-0067), a 137-year-old national landmark that once served as the town hall in the sleepy waterfront community of College Point.

26 Enter Queens’ heart of darkness. The Rikers inmates dropped off at Queens Plaza after completing their sentences could be forgiven a moment’s hesitation. Strip clubs, doughnut shops, parking lots. Empty sidewalks nearly swallowed up by cataracts of traffic. And yet, the walk west on Queens Plaza South in the shadow of the Queensboro Bridge is oddly exhilarating. In the right mood, the din of engines summons thoughts of the sea, and the rusting girders the romantic decay of piers and ports. The bleak, silent buildings feel uncanny, like abandoned space in the midst of the metropolis.

27 Travel back in time to colonial New York. Old Astoria Village is a must for architecture buffs—and, thanks to its location near the East River waterfront, a focal point for development. The Greater Astoria Historical Society (718-278-0700) gives tours of dozens of pre–Civil War homes and buildings; each year, two or three are bulldozed. The looker of the Village is a blindingly white 1840s columned house at 26-07 12th Street, dubbed “Tara”—one expects Scarlett O’Hara’s hoop skirts to sweep out the front door at any moment.

28 Hang with legions of advanced drinkers. When the signature cocktails are sixteen-ounce brain-numbers with names like Red Death, Killer Crock, and Shark Attack, those with delicate constitutions should stay away. The storied 5 Burro Cafe (72-05 Austin St., Forest Hills; 718-544-2984) on Forest Hills’ main drag is a mild-mannered Mex by day and a teeming frenzy by night, as bikers, college kids, and stewardesses (housed in the neighborhood by the airlines) descend for happy hour. Also, you get plastic dinosaurs with your drinks.

29 Sample olives in their natural habitat. Every deli in Greek Astoria seems to have an olive bar. Is there a cheaper thrill than sampling the different varieties one by one? Green olives are chewy, often stuffed with almonds, garlic, or feta cheese. Purple kalamatas, though, are the stuff of which olive odes are made. Cured in vinegar, they possess an intense, puckering acidity.

30 Smoke from a hookah. There are plenty of tremendous Egyptian restaurants and pastry places on Steinway Street, but for sheer Cairo ambience, nothing beats the Egyptian Coffee Shop (25-09 Steinway St., Astoria; 718-777-5517), where a man (if women are allowed, they’re very well-hidden) can lean back and smoke flavored shi-sha tobacco from the four-foot-long hose of a hookah, enjoy fresh mango juice, and watch the news of the day on Al Jazeera.

Street-legal graffiti at 5 Points.

31 See living, breathing graffiti art. As the 7 train from Manhattan pulls into Court House Square, look to your left for a powerful, if fleeting, glimpse of graffiti art courtesy of nonprofit organization 5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin’, which parcels out space on the exterior of a converted warehouse building (Jackson Ave. and Crane St.) a few blocks from P.S. 1 to budding aerosol artists. The best view is from the train, but you can also check out the ever-changing display up close.