East Side, West Side, All Around the Park

It's the ultimate New York City tourist experience: a hotel room with a view of Central Park -- or maybe just a glimpse. Here's a sampling of rooms with a park view, including what you'll pay to hobnob among horse-drawn carriages. It's not cheap (is New York ever?), but we've included the YMCA if you really need your park fix.

The rates listed below are for double rooms per night and are the hotel rack rates. You can often do better if you search online (Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Quikbook, Priceline, etc.). Compare the price with the hotel's rates, which change based on season, special events and availability. Remember that some hotels offer weekend rates and packages only if you book directly with them. (And don't forget to add New York City taxes -- 13.8 percent, plus $3.50 per night per room minimum.)

Upper East Side

* Feel like a local at the 86-room Wales, a boutique property in the Victorian-mansion Carnegie Hill neighborhood. The original 104-year-old floors support antique furnishings and Old World decor. People-watch outside and inside, perhaps over the complimentary breakfast. There's a rooftop dining patio, as well as Sarabeth's restaurant and patisserie and Joanna's Italian restaurant. Rooms without views cost about $350; with a view, they average $450. Best view: from an eighth-floor corner room.

1295 Madison Ave., between 92nd and 93rd streets. Info: 866-925-3746, http://www.waleshotel.com.

20 E. 76th St., between Fifth and Madison avenues. Info: 866-233-4642, http://www.affinahotels.com.

781 Fifth Ave., between 59th and 60th streets. Info: 877-743-7710, http://www.sherrynetherland.com.

57 E. 57th St., between Park and Madison avenues. Info: 800-487-3769, http://www.fourseasons.com.

Upper West Side

* The West Side YMCA has the city's cheapest rooms with a Central Park view -- but just seven, and they can't be booked online. On the 12th and 13th floors, you'll get a view of trees from the five semi-private single rooms *$105, with shared, one-shower bathrooms). There are also two shared-bath, queen-bed rooms with a fridge for $151 (same price for one or two people). The Y also has more than 100 other bunk-bed rooms from $96 per room, which can be booked online. Guests can use all Y facilities, including its two swimming pools. Buses and nine subway lines close by take you all around the town.

5 W. 63rd St., between Central Park West and Broadway. Info: 212-875-4100, http://www.ymcanyc.org.

465 Central Park West, at 103rd Street. Info: 800-524-9109 or 212-866-1880.

1 Central Park West, at Columbus Circle, between 60th and 61st streets. Info: 888-448-7867, http://www.trumpintl.com.

South of the Park

* The park's southern tip is loaded with upscale choices, such as the 33-story Ritz-Carlton Central Park. Eighty-three of the hotel's 260 rooms and 47 suites have a park view, but if you've got super-deep pockets, consider the new 2,220-square-feet, third-floor Central Park Suite -- with a dining room that seats eight and a telescope for up-close park views. The hotel boasts the first U.S. branch of Switzerland-based La Prairie spa, which specializes in de-aging treatments. Park-view rooms start at $1,095 per night; park-view suites, from $1,895.