The Strip

Las Vegas is Spanish for 'the meadows' or 'fertile plains' and although it may have looked that way when the first settlers arrived in the early 19th century, there is certainly more neon and concrete than grass there today. The Strip covers a four-and-a-half mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard. There are over 40 hotel-casinos to choose from if you fancy a flutter or a bed for the night and if gambling isn’t your thing you can see a show, take a ride or tie the knot!

Known by some as ‘Sin City’ due to its reputation for gambling, drinking and adult entertainment, Las Vegas is open 24/7 with something to offer everyone who is looking for a good time. The Strip is a strange twilight world of illusion where reality is left behind; in a few short miles you can float through the canals of Venice, top up your tan in the Caribbean or marvel at the wonders of Ancient Egypt. You can even visit New York and Hollywood without leaving Las Vegas.

Frank Sinatra started the trend for sophisticated lounge singers to perform in Las Vegas and everyone from Elvis to Liberace has played to packed houses over the years. Celine Dion even has her own theatre where she performs five times a week. You can see also see Tina Turner, Madonna and Sammy Davis Jr live on stage thanks to some of the very authentic sounding and looking impersonators that perform on the Strip. Other shows on offer include Cirque du Soleil and the Folies Bergere.  

Fancy a bit of retail therapy? Then you could visit the Fashion Show Mall which has over 200 shops to choose from, spread over nearly 2m sq ft, including famous names like Macy’s, Saks and Neiman Markus. One of the main features of the mall is its 24m (80ft) retractable catwalk where fashion shows are held several times a day.

All that shopping could leave you with very sore feet but you don’t need to worry about walking on the Strip. July 2004 saw the opening of the monorail; running the 6.5km (4 miles) from the MGM Grand in the south to the Sahara at the north end it can carry up to 5,000 passengers an hour in both directions.

If you’re one of the 87,000 couples each year who decide to get married in Las Vegas you’ll have over 50 wedding chapels to choose from, open from 8am until midnight and 24-hours-a-day on public holidays. On average 337 couples say “I do” here every day and around 2,000 hold their nuptials on Valentines Day. If you want a wedding with a spectacular view you can hold the ceremony in a helicopter or hot air balloon high above the Strip but if you don’t even want to leave your limo you could go for a drive-thru wedding. Famous couples who’ve tied the knot in Vegas include Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Britney Spears and her high school sweetheart Jason Alexander (although the marriage was annulled after just 50 hours) and Mickey Rooney. He loved getting married in the Little Church of the West so much he did it eight times!