Las Vegas, with its iconic hotels, world-class shows, and endless entertainment, lives up to its reputation as a party destination, as first-time visitor Neil Leslie discovered. From the moment the city's lights appear out of the desert, it is an assault on all five senses, offering a whirlwind of experiences from the Strip to Fremont Street.
A City of Iconic Hotels and Casinos
For newcomers, the approach to Harry Reid International Airport offers a dizzying sensation, with the city's iconic hotels rising almost parallel to the runway. It takes just minutes from landing to be plunged into the chaos of the Strip. Staying at the MGM Grand, with its green-tinted glass towers, visitors quickly acclimatise to the cacophony of the casino floor.
Hotels like the MGM, Caesars, and the Bellagio have the footprint of entire city blocks. Walking between them, Las Vegas sets out to astonish at every turn. One moment you are under the girders of the Eiffel Tower, the next on St Mark's Square in the Venetian with a gondolier floating by. The New York, New York, Excalibur, and Park MGM hotels form a fun triangle, complete with a Manhattan rollercoaster ride.
Gaming, Food, and Shopping
Many visitors come for the famous gaming, and there are few thrills like watching a roulette wheel spin at Caesars Palace or the MGM Grand. As Frank Sinatra said, "Vegas is the only place that money really talks…it says goodbye."
Beyond gambling, the entertainment, food, and shopping are supersized. A day could take you from a breakfast buffet at the Wynn or Sadelle's at the Bellagio, via fish and chips at Gordon Ramsay's Caesars Palace pub, to restaurants like Kyu at the Fontainebleau hotel or Chicas at the Venetian. Malls inside hotels boast designer stores, including one where an assistant displayed a $45,000 pen designed in honour of Dracula author Bram Stoker.
Fremont Street and the Sphere
The heart and soul of old Las Vegas is around Fremont Street, home to iconic casinos like the original Golden Nugget and countless chapels. It is also home to the Mob Museum, where you can learn how the city rose from the desert sands, including the original wall from the Valentine's Day massacre.
Showtime still competes with the lure of the casino floor, with residencies by global superstars. The newest addition is the $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere, a 580,000 square feet of programmable LED space. Metallica were filling slots between performances of the Wizard of Oz, a reimagining of the 1939 classic where flying monkeys shoot overhead and apples come flying into the crowd.
