The leisure traveler looking to see the sights is best based on the West Side with easy access to Broadway (and the TKTS booth on 42nd & Broadway where discount show tickets can be purchased.) Days, if not weeks, can be spent taking on the major shopping areas on Seventh, Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, not to mention the stores at Herald Square anchored by the Macy's flagship at 34th Street.

The 24-hour, seven-days-a-week feeling that many vacationers come to New York City for is best felt on the West Side with its many nightspots. And following the "safety-in-numbers" principle, you can really enjoy Manhattan nightlife because on the West Side -- no matter what hour -- you will find many travelers and natives taking in the scene.

If you stick to hotels near the center of the island, it will be easy to take time out and stroll among the trees, take in a concert or play, or simply lounge about in the jewel of Manhattan, Central Park.

Try checking in at the Hotel Bedford, Ellington Hotel, Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Crowne Plaza Manhattan or The Plaza Hotel.