Bellagio Conservatory Botanical Garden, Photo Credit: Las Vegas News Bureau
The Strip, a.k.a. Las Vegas Boulevard, is the engine that keeps Las Vegas chugging along, and it’s a requisite if you have limited time in town. The four-mile street takes you around the world in a matter of hours. See a miniaturized version of New York City, catch views from Paris’ most recognized landmark and travel gondolier-style through the Italian Renaissance.
Regardless of where you’re staying, it’s easiest to begin at one end of the Strip and make your way from there. Cabs are nearly as common as slot machines on Las Vegas Boulevard, so you’ll have no trouble finding one (though you will have to go to a hotel entrance taxi line to get a cab to stop). A public transportation option is the high-tech (driverless) monorail that can get you through the Strip in less than 15 minutes.
Pick and choose the casinos that appeal to you. High-stakes gamblers will enjoy the enormous and extravagant mega-resorts such as The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Caesars Palace and Wynn Las Vegas (and the perks that accompany such invited guests).
Whereas the smaller casinos, such as O’Sheas and Slots A Fun, tend to have better payouts and lower minimums, which are good for beginners. Though, you’ll come to understand that the house always wins.
For a bit of romance, meander through the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at Bellagio, whose elaborate floral displays change with the season. In the afternoons and evenings, the hotel also puts on impressive outdoor fountain shows. Choreographed to music and light, the powerful water jets offer the best free show in town (check here for times).
Le Cirque Restaurant, Photo Credit: Le Cirque
Depending on what you’re in the mood for, there are, of course, a slew of big-name restaurants to have dinner. Some of the best tables include Le Cirque Las Vegas, Restaurant Guy Savoy, Picasso, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire, Wing Lei and Joël Robuchon, all of which earned Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star awards.
Then get an aerial view of the neon-lit city at night by taking a spin on the High Roller Ferris wheel, which puts you 550 feet above the Strip. It’s the world’s tallest observation wheel. Or zip up 46 stories in the Eiffel Tower, a half-scale replica of the Paris, France, original.
Cap off your Vegas day with a Cirque du Soleil show. With so many to choose from, you’re unlikely to go wrong, but our vote goes to O at Bellagio. Mystère at Treasure Island is another long-running favorite featuring the talented cast of extreme Cirque acrobats.
If you’ve got anything left in your wallet by midnight, the tables are always open.
