This fantasyland prides itself on being the ultimate escape--and encourages visitors to interpret that in any way they'd like. The goal of each casino resort is simple: to keep visitors happy and satisfied for as long as possible, 24 hours a day. That translates, in part, into the over-the-top free attractions for which Las Vegas is known, from the erupting volcano at the Mirage to the dazzling water show at the Bellagio. As the casinos see it, the less you invest in sightseeing, the more money you'll have for gaming.
If it's your first trip to the city, you'll likely spend most of your time on Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as the Strip. Though Las Vegas' reputation is first and foremost based on casinos, in recent years shops, restaurants, spas and clubs have been vying to oust blackjack as the primary diversion. The constant reinvention of Las Vegas is a way of keeping the visitors streaming in. In the mid-1990s the city's marketing gurus briefly pushed Sin City as a family-friendly destination, but that quickly gave way to a return to the city's roots as a casino mecca, albeit a much more luxurious one with over-the-top dining, attractions and rooms as the main diversions up and down the Strip.
Of course, not all entertainment is located on that 4-mile stretch of boulevard. Las Vegas is also home to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is the fifth most popular place in the United States for rock climbing. And there's the Atomic Testing Museum, which delves into Nevada's unique role in the Cold War.
Come to Las Vegas prepared to have the time of your life, but keep in mind that you're visiting the Mojave Desert. That means you'll sweat it out in the summer months, as temperatures top 100 degrees Fahrenheit from June to September. If the weather gets to be too much, you can always stay--you guessed it--inside at the gaming tables.
The Strip
Few would consider the Strip a traditional neighborhood, but that's not to say that it doesn't have its own neighborhood charms. Paris' Left Bank district wouldn't be complete without the Eiffel Tower; Midtown Manhattan would see a lot fewer tourists without the Empire State Building; and Giza--well, it wouldn't be much without the Pyramids. The Strip offers all of these iconic mainstays, and more, in a single five-mile stretch. Nowhere else in the country do you have such eclectic opportunities to shop, dine and play. The Strip keeps reinventing itself, and while you can still find small boutiques hawking 2-for-$10 T-shirts and $9.99 all-you-can-eat buffets, today's version veers toward sophisticated fun at hotels like Encore and MGM's Skylofts.
The Adventuredome
Circus Circus
2880 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
North Strip, 866-456-8894; www.adventuredome.com
The Adventuredome is the largest indoor amusement park in the United States. The operative word is, of course, "indoor"; it offers rides and respite from the desert's brutal summer heat. With 25 rides and attractions, there are options for kids of all ages and heights. Canyon Blaster, the world's only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew coaster, is one of the most popular thrill rides. Other options include Chaos, which whirls you into oblivion, and the Inverter, with its extreme G-force action. What the rides lack in white-knuckle-gripping terror, they make up for with variety and volume.
Admission: $4-$7 per ride. All-day passes adults $24.95, children 33"-47" tall $14.95. Summer: 10 a.m.-midnight; school year: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-midnight, Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Bellagio Las Vegas
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Center Strip
888-987-6667; www.bellagio.com
Picture an organic art museum, where the displays are made of flowers, shrubs, plants and trees, and change with the seasons. The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens does just that, and it's even more beautiful than it sounds. The 13,500-square-foot palatial setting, located across from the resort's lobby, is home to five alternating displays throughout the year, with themes that include the holidays, Chinese New Year, spring, summer and fall. Each season manages to outdo the last. In winter, you might find reindeer made of whole pecans, giant greeting cards comprising thousands of flowers, and a 21-foot wreath built of pinecones. Come spring, a whole new world awaits with a live butterfly garden, leaping fountains and butterfly-shaped topiaries. On average, each display consists of 40 trees, 1,500 shrubs and 10,000 blooming plants. Considering that the hotel spends $8 million annually on the Conservatory, this free attraction is a jackpot all year round.
Daily 24 hours. Closed for five weeks a year, as the displays are changed.
Bodies: The Exhibition
Luxor
3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
South Strip, 800-288-1000; www.bodiestheexhibition.com
This show is something between art, science and the just plain macabre. "Bodies: The Exhibition" is just what it sounds like: human cadavers displayed for all to see. The polymer-preserved bodies, each with its dermis removed, demonstrate everything from the muscular to the vascular systems of the body, so you can see just what you and your muscles look like from the inside when you're, say, playing baseball or throwing darts. Partial-body specimens show what a smoker's lung looks like compared to a healthy lung (try buying a pack of cigarettes after seeing that), and what kind of damage overeating can do to your organs. The exhibition is educational, but has raised some controversy since its inception because the bodies were acquired from the Chinese police (visit the Website if you're curious).
Admission: adults $31, seniors $29, children 4-14 $23. Daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Bonanza "The World's Largest Gift Shop"
2440 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
North Strip, 702-385-7359; worldslargestgiftshop.com
The self-proclaimed "world's largest gift shop" has far more than the typical tourist knickknacks you'd expect. You'll find fuzzy dice (just begging for a rear-view mirror to call their own) and miniature, lighted "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" signs, but there's also an impressive array of bachelor and bachelorette gag gifts, and even a sombrero-wearing dog that sings "La Bamba" when activated. Located at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, this 40,000-square-foot space is a Sin City staple even locals frequent. It's the go-to spot for anyone in need of a new Nun-zilla wind-up doll or "Polly, the Insulting Parrot."
Daily 8 a.m.-midnight.
The Eiffel Tower Experience
Paris Las Vegas
3655 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Center Strip, 877-603-4386; www.harrahs.com
Las Vegas is a city obsessed with replication--and we're not talking carbon copies and model airplanes. Though the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas is half the size of the original at 460 feet, the view from the top is equally stunning. A dizzying windowed elevator ride takes guests up nearly 50 floors to the open-air observation deck, which allows for 360-degree views of Las Vegas. It's intimate up here, and gets packed with tourists on the weekends. If you can get to the border of the deck facing west, you're in for perhaps the best view of the Fountains of Bellagio water show in town. Avoid tripping over men down on one knee. This is a popular spot for marriage proposals.
Admission daily from 9:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.: adults $10, seniors and children $7, children under 5 free. Admission daily from 7:30 p.m.–12:30 a.m.: adults $12, seniors and children $10. Open daily 9:30–12:30 a.m., weather permitting.
Easter Bunny hopping all over the map2010 New York Autoshow: Day 2 Wrap-Up
