Las Vegas, an entertainment hub, has a lot to offer those looking for a good time with a myriad of shows and activities including many Cirque du Soleil productions, concerts, magic shows and over 100 casinos for those wanting to tempt Lady Luck.
Mega casino hotels are gradually replacing dated ones with musty smelling carpets and an aroma of tobacco that still lingers in the air from yesteryear. Cheap food venues are also being tossed aside by gourmet restaurants. With the construction of mega hotel complexes come fancy high-end designer shopping and world-renowned chefs. Each construction more extravagant than the previous in a constant effort to outdo one another. A delight for foodies, shoppers, and entertainment junkies.
With an enormous convention center, and conference facilities in most of the large casino hotels, Vegas is often overrun by conference attendees which cycle through week after week filling the hotels and restaurants.
Las Vegas highlights
- The Strip with its lineup of themed hotels attempting to recreate the ambience of famous spots like New York, Paris, Venice, etc.
- The Glitter Gulch, the stretch along Fremont Street, in the original downtown area surrounded by those famous wedding chapels some of them drive-throughs!
Signs of another era
Las Vegas doesn’t have to be only about glitz, glamour and neon lights! Just a short distance away from the hustle and bustle one can find a completely different pace.
Day trips from Las Vegas
- A short drive to the west will get you to Red Rock Canyon and a bit further out lies Death Valley.
- Heading northeast gets you to the Valley of Fire, Petroglyph Canyon and the Lost City Museum. The museum houses some of the artifacts left behind by the Pueblo Indians before the area was flooded by lake Mead with the creation of the Hoover Dam.
- Driving east will get you to the Lake Mead National Recreation area including the Hoover Dam.
- A longer but doable drive (or alternatively, taking one of the many helicopter rides) gets you to the Grand Canyon and is definitely worth the experience.
Vegas may not be for everyone but it’s a great starting point for getting on a road trip to see some of the most scenic landscapes in the Southwest United-States including the majestic Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce National Parks.
Read about our adventure:
National Parks Road Trip: Exploring the Southwest Canyons