Viva Las Vegas! Las Vegas is a real amusement paradise that pulls in more than 42 million visitors in 2016. One might think: “what are all these millions of visitors looking for in this warm desert city?” Most of these visitors mainly come to visit conventions, to enjoy the amusement and gaming that Las Vegas (Sin City) has to offer.
The Strip in Las Vegas
When you walk the Strip for the very first time, the most important street in Las Vegas, you’ll be short of eyes. The huge Hotels on the Strip are mostly built according to different themes and they are definately worth to view from the outside but also from the inside. One will make you feel like you’re in the old Egypt (the Luxor) and in the next Hotel in the Middle Ages ( Excalibur). You’ll be in New York, Monte Carlo, Paris or Venice in no time. Each and every theme-hotel is actually an attraction to itself, where you can enjoy yourself for many hours.
During the day the huge Hotels are already beautiful, but at night they really come to life due to their many, many neon- and other kind of lighting. From the light bundle shining from the top of the Luxor Hotel, the luminated Paris to the dancing lighted fountains at the Bellagio Hotel.
The Strip is pretty long, from the Mandalay Bay to the Stratosphere it’s about 4.4 miles. When you’re on the Strip for the first time you won’t notice this at first. Hotels seem to be close to each other but this is just deceit, due to their enormous measurements. When you’re in Las Vegas for a few days, I’d scout the Strip on foot as much as possible, and next to that maybe with your own car ( parking at the most Hotels is free, except MGM Resotrs!), taxi, uber, the Las Vegas Strip Trolleys, the bus (301) and not to forget the monorail and Express Trams.
Shopping in Las Vegas
In many hotels you also have complete shopping-malls with “ordinary” to luxury to very exclusive shops. There are, among others: in the Planet Hollywood Hotel; the Desert Passage, in
Caesars Palace; The Forum Shops, in the Paris Hotel; Le Boulevard and in the Venetian; The Grand Canal Shoppes. Don’t forget Crystals at CityCenter. Whenever you’re in one of these beautiful shopping-malls you should look up, because of the colour-painted ceiling. It’s just like you’re outside. Yes, even the blue sky and the magnificent clouds are being reproduced here.
If you want to shop even more: Las Vegas has a different “Malls”, “Outlets”and a lot of souvenir-shops and specialty-stores.In Las Vegas it’s really “shop till you drop”! Even for men 🙂
Food & Drink in Las Vegas
If all that shopping made you thirsty or hungry, then you’re at the right spot in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has a lot of restaurants ranging from very common to very exclusive, where you can eat from “all you can eat” buffets to “a la carte”.
Las Vegas is famous for her many and very extensive buffets. Because of all the offered buffets it is very difficult to make a choice.
To help you we made a Top 5 Las Vegas Buffets; in no particular order of course.
Top 5 Las Vegas buffetten
- The Buffet at Aria
- Wicked Spoon Buffet at The Cosmopolitan
- Studio B Buffet at M Resort and Spa
- The Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas
- The Carnival Buffet at Rio Las Vegas
Another buffet tip! The buffets in Las Vegas are very big and divers. So have a good look around before you fill your plate. In Las Vegas you’ll also find a few theme cafés and restaurants where you can enjoy food and drink in surroundings that speak to your imagination. Think here about places like the Hardrock Café, Planet Hollywood, Blondies, House of Blues and the Rainforest Café.
If you only want to enjoy a drink and / or dance, then you can go to one of the many bars, (night) clubs or lounges.
Sport (events/activities) in Las Vegas
Boxing is the sport-event in Las Vegas. Each year many matches are being fought in different sports-arenas of the different mega-hotels.
Besides boxing you can also enjoy tennis-matches, horse-racing, UFC-fights, Rodeo, Car-racing ( Nascar) and golf in Las Vegas.
Of course you can hit a tee yourself on one of about 50 golf-courses that Las Vegas and Vegas area has.
If you want more action you can also go water-skiing, sky-diving, mountain-biking, rafting or……
More info about this subject>>> What can you do in Las Vegas?
Kids and Las Vegas
Of course Las Vegas will always be a city that aims mainly at grown-ups that love to gamble and/or like to get entertained. To be sure that parents can gamble, go shopping or visit shows, the kids have to be entertained as well of course. There are a few shows where children are very welcome as well. Besides that, the most hotels have options to keep kids busy or entertain them. Think for example about the roller coasters, rides and arcades. Be sure not to forget to take the kids to the beautiful free shows: Fountains of Bellagio, The Volcano (at the Mirage), Fremont Street Experience and Fall of Atlantis (at Caesars Forum Shops).
Whenever you visit Las Vegas with your children then the Circus-Circus Hotel is recommended to stay in. This hotel has the biggest indoor theme-park in the country. Besides that there are a few circus-performances every day. Another fun hotel is Excalibur.
The Showcase Mall next to the MGM Grand is a great place to take your kids. In this Mall you can find Game Works (video games/interactive), M&M’s World and the World of Coca-Cola.
The building is very recognizable by the huge Coca-Cola bottle and the M&M commercials.
Would you like to plan something yourself or do you want to see what else there is to do for kids, then please visit this site, www.lasvegaskids.net and/or the page ” Things to do in Las Vegas“.
On this page you will find a few animal attractions that are definitely worth to go to.
Las Vegas Monorail
There’s is a monorail connection between the MGM Grand and the SLS Hotel. Las Vegas Monorail has 7 stations: 1) MGM Grand, 2) Bally’s, 3) Flamingo, 4) The LINQ, 5) Las Vegas Convention Center, 6) Westgate Las Vegas and 7) the SLS Las Vegas Station. Total running time is 14 minutes from MGM Grand Station till the SLS Las Vegas Station. For prices and more information , visit the Las Vegas Monorail website.
Express Trams MGM Resorts & TI
There are three free monorails in Las Vegas. Just pack it if you do not want to walk.
1) Mandalay Bay – Luxor – Excalibur Tram
2) Monte Carlo – Aria – Bellagio Tram
3) Mirage – Treasure Island Tram
Most trams run every 10 – 15 minutes within hours of operation and seven days a week.
Viva Las Vegas!
Of course there will be a time where you will have to leave Las Vegas. Most of us will do this by car and others take a plane. Whenever you visit this beautiful city again in a few years, you’ll be amazed about all the changes. Almost every year hotels & casinos are being built, and remodeled. One more beautiful, more luxurious or bigger than the other. Yes, Las Vegas will always amaze everyone.
And now it is time to enjoy Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley. Elvis has performed for many years in Las Vegas and was very successful.
Leaving Las Vegas
Las Vegas in its self is beautiful but don’t forget, when you have time for it, to visit The Hoover Dam or one or more of the next beautiful national parks, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley Zion, Red Rock Canyon, Glen Canyon, Valley of Fire, Mount Charleston, Antelope Canyon. Some of these parks you can visit from Las Vegas, others you can visit during your trip through the south-west of the US.
More info on this >>> visit the page Leaving Las Vegas
There will be a time where you will have to leave Las Vegas. Most of us will do this by car and others take a plane. Whenever you visit this beautiful city again in a few years, you’ll be amazed about all the changes. Almost every year hotels & casino’s are being built or remodeled. One more beautiful, more luxurious or bigger than the other. Yes, Las Vegas will always amaze everyone.
