Attractions
Venetian Hotel and Casino
No expense was spared creating the Venetian Hotel, in fact $2 billion was spent recreating Venice in the Nevada Desert and the result is fairly spectacular. Guests can travel around the hotel in a gondola - real canals run through the hotel - and a replica of St Mark's Square and the Basilica turns from night to day every three hours; visitors have to look carefully to notice that the sky is actually a vast fresco. The only things missing are the pigeons and the backpackers. The casino itself is massive, featuring 2,500 slot machines and 125 gaming tables. For guests taking a break from the tables, there are five swimming pools, a fitness centre, and 17 restaurants - mostly pizzerias. One of the main attractions is Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, a wax museum presenting some of the world's biggest icons including stars, politicians, record-breaking athletes and legends.
Address: 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard
Telephone: (702) 414 1000
Web site:www.venetian.com
Opening time: Hotel and Casino: daily 24 hours. Madame Tussauds: opening hours vary depending on the season, but generally daily 10am to 11pm
Admission: Hotel and Casino admission is free. Madame Tussauds: $22.95 (adults), $12.95 (children 6-12)
Bellagio Hotel and Casino
The Bellagio is one of Las Vegas' most opulent hotels and most popular casinos. With an Italian theme, the great bulk of the Bellagio sits in its own vast garden. It has over 3,000 rooms and hundreds of slot machines and gaming tables, however its best-known attraction is its amazing water show - a breathtaking union of water, music and light. Between 3pm and midnight (from 12pm on weekends) the Bellagio's world-famous fountains 'dance' to opera, classical or whimsical music with carefully choreographed movements. Beyond the Bellagio's gracious lobby lies the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, a magnificent garden abounding in fragrance, texture and colour. The hotel also has a new fine arts gallery that hosts contemporary art exhibits; it is currently exhibiting a series of celebrity portraits by Andy Warhol.
Address: 3600 S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Telephone: (702) 693 7111
Web site:www.bellagiolasvegas.com
Opening time: Daily 24 hours. The art gallery opens daily 9am to 10pm
Admission: Free (hotel and casino); $15 (fine art gallery)
The Mirage
Another MGM mega-casino, the showpiece at the Mirage is a Volcano that shoots flames 100ft (30m) into the night sky every 15 minutes (6pm to midnight), spewing smoke and transforming a tranquil waterfall into spectacular streams of molten lava. As you'd expect of Las Vegas, it's all quite naff, but great entertainment. Siegfried & Roy's White Tigers are the other signature attraction at the Mirage (unfortunately the Siegfried & Roy show has been cancelled indefinitely due to the near-fatal attack on Roy Horn by one of the tigers during a performance). Unlike conventional tigers, which have black and gold markings, the white tiger is white with black stripes, pink paws and ice-blue eyes. There are only a few dozen white tigers in the world, which makes them rarer than the panda bear. The open-air Tiger Habitat features a swimming pool with fountains and simulated mountain terrain for the tigers' enjoyment and the public's entertainment. Another popular attraction is the aquarium located behind the Front Desk. This 20,000-gallon saltwater aquarium is home to angelfish, puffer fish, tangs, sharks and other exotic sea creatures.
Address: 3400 S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Telephone: (702) 791 7111
Web site:www.mirage.com
Opening time: Daily 24 hours
Admission: Free
The Luxor
The Luxor is themed on ancient Egypt and is one of the most prominent sights on the Strip. It is a massive black-glass pyramid containing 36 floors of hotel rooms, and shining through it up into the night sky is the world's most powerful light beam, which they claim can be seen by planes circling Los Angeles. The ground floor of the hotel is given over to a massive casino, which stands beneath a recreation of Tutankhamun's Tomb. Other than gambling, entertainment at the hotel includes an IMAX theatre, gyms, swimming pools and shows by the spectacular Blue Man Group.
Address: 3900 S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Telephone: (702) 262 4000
Web site:www.luxor.com
Opening time: Daily 24 hours
Admission: Free
Liberace Museum
The Liberace Museum was founded in 1979 by the late entertainer and features 'Mr Showmanship's' dazzling jewelry, outfits and other memorabilia. Liberace was a massively popular musician in America and best known for his outrageous outfits and stage sets. He was a regular visitor to Las Vegas. The museum houses his vast collection of pianos and cars, which include a custom-made Rolls Royce covered with tiny mirrors. His costumes, stage props and jewellery can also be seen. His 'crown jewels' include a spectacular piano-shaped watch with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, and a piano-shaped ring containing 260 diamonds in a white and yellow gold 18-carat setting with ivory and black jade keys. Proceeds from the not-for-profit museum support scholarships for the performing arts.
Address: 1775 E. Tropicana Avenue
Telephone: (702) 798 5595
E-mail:info@liberace.org
Web site:www.liberace.com
Opening time: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday 12pm to 4pm
Admission: $12.50; concessions available
Imperial Palace Auto Collection
With over 250 classic antique cars on display (all available for purchase), the collection is an absolute must for car enthusiasts. It is actually part of a larger collection and cars are rotated in and out of the showroom on a regular basis; once a car is sold it is replaced by another. Exhibited are rare models, race cars, muscle cars, touring roadsters and dozens of vehicles once owned by the rich and famous.
Address: Imperial Palace Casino, 3535 S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Telephone: (702) 794 3174
E-mail:info@autocollections.com
Web site:www.autocollections.com
Opening time: Daily 9.30am to 9.30pm
Admission: Free entrance vouchers are easily available at the Imperial Palace casino, otherwise tickets are $6.95
Fremont Street Experience
The downtown area of Las Vegas is where it all began and is known as the Fremont Street Experience or 'Glitter Gulch' for the bright neon signs and thousands of flashing lights that line the streets - this is where you'll find Vegas Vic and Sassy Sal, two of the nations best-known neon icons. Some of the city's most famous vintage casinos are found here, including the Golden Nugget and the Gold Spike, as are most of its strip clubs and stage shows. Most entertainment is on, or just off, the Freemont Street Experience Mall.
Address: 425 Fremont Street, Downtown Las Vegas
Roller Coasters
There are four roller coasters on The Strip: the Manhattan Express at New York NY, the Canyon Blaster at the Adventuredome, the roller coaster at MGM Grand Adventures and the High Roller at the Stratosphere. The MGM theme park is probably the best, although for sheer terror factor head for the High Roller. At 1,149ft, the Stratosphere Tower is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, and thrill seekers can enjoy excitement over 100 stories above the ground on the Big Shot thrill ride and the High Roller roller coaster. There is also a revolving restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere, which offers great views but pretty average food.
Cirque du Soleil
The world famous Cirque du Soleil - a riot of costumes, colours and contortionists - brings its unique magic to Las Vegas with several immensely popular shows, including Mystère, which has been honoured as 'Las Vegas' Best Production Show'. Other shows include the aquatic show 'O' at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, KÁ at the MGM Grand and the latest 'The Beatles - Love' at the Mirage.
Address: Various venues
Web site:www.cirquedusoleil.com
Opening time: Show times vary
Admission: Ticket prices vary
