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.

UPPER EAST SIDE

WALES

1295 Madison Ave., between 92nd and 93rd streets. (866) 925-3746, www.waleshotel.com.

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 free breakfast on the rooftop dining patio. Rooms without views cost about $350; with a view, they average $450. Best view: from an eighth-floor corner room.

SURREY

20 E. 76th St., between Fifth and Madison avenues. (866) 233-4642, www.affinahotels.com.

Some of the 132 rooms in the pet-friendly Surrey have Central Park views, but to be sure you get one, ask for a superior suite on the 13th to 16th floors (on the building's corner). You can't get much closer to Madison Avenue shopping, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art is 3 1/2 blocks away. Cafe Boulud provides French cuisine in-room. Rooms start around $419.

SHERRY-NETHERLAND

781 Fifth Ave., between 59th and 60th streets. (877) 743-7710, www.sherrynetherland.com.

The Sherry-Netherland is the Gothic minaret-topped building across from Grand Army Plaza, Central Park's main entrance. It's 70 percent residential, but 48 rooms are available for visitors. The lobby is modeled after the Vatican library, and hand-painted wood panels in the elevators once graced the Vanderbilt mansion. Park-view rooms start at $720; suites go from $1,250 nightly.

FOUR SEASONS

57 E. 57th St., between Park and Madison avenues. (800) 487-3769, www.fourseasons.com.

The Four Seasons has 19 rooms and 40 suites with park views (total number of rooms: 364). The best views may be on the 31st to 49th floors. At 600 square feet, the rooms are among the city's largest, with walk-in closets or dressing rooms, plus plasma TVs in both bedroom and bathroom. Rooms start at $695 per night, but those with park view start at $1,150; park-view suites start at $1,950.

UPPER WEST SIDE

WEST SIDE YMCA

5 W. 63rd St., between Central Park West and Broadway. (212) 875-4100, www.ymcanyc.org.

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 up to 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.

ASTOR ON THE PARK

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

If a fluffy pillow and clean sheets are all the luxury you need, this place won't disappoint. Although the somber brick-and-stone building has been renovated — apple-green bedrooms and faux marble bathrooms — radiators may hiss in the wee hours. We're told the 79 rooms book quickly, and this summer is already nearly a sellout — and no wonder, with rates starting at $170 per night for a double. The downside: While front rooms face park trees and those from upper floors of the 11-story building have great views, you're pretty far from midtown.

TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER

1 Central Park West, at Columbus Circle, between 60th and 61st streets. (888) 448-7867, www.trumpintl.com.

If you want a glimpse of the music industry's big names (and maybe The Donald) and floor-to-ceiling park views, try the 167-room Trump International Hotel & Tower. Family-friendly touches include the "baby attache" service: a child-proofed room, fridge stocked with formula and baby food, plus diapers, crib and a shaded stroller for Central Park wandering. Opt to dine at chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's namesake restaurant, or impress business associates with gourmet in-suite dining, with the chef using your European-equipped kitchen ($75 an hour, plus cost of food). Rates start at $705, suites at $900; a two-bedroom park suite is $2,900 and sleeps six.

SOUTH OF THE PARK

RITZ-CARLTON CENTRAL PARK

50 Central Park South, at Sixth Avenue. (800) 241-3333, www.ritzcarlton.com.

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 views. The hotel boasts the first U.S. branch of Switzerland-based La Prairie spa. Park-view rooms start at $1,095; park-view suites, from $1,895.

LONDON NYC

151 W. 54th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues. (866) 690-2029, www.thelondonnyc.com.

The 562-room London NYC, formerly the Rihga Royal, has more than 50 Vista Suites with park views on floors 37 to 54. One interesting amenity: Guests can phone anyone in London free for up to eight hours daily. Sleeping here won't assure you a table at celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's in-house restaurant, where an eight-course "prestige menu" is $120 per person. Perhaps better to lunch at the London Bar, which has $25 and $31 prix-fixe menus, and traditional English afternoon tea ($35). Rooms range from $399 to $999; Vista Suites are $479 to $1,149.