The Best Full-Day 1 Tours

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05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 8 55/16/12/16/12 3:173:17 PM 9 f all you know of Las Vegas is the Strip, that’s okay—that’s The Best Ireally all you need to know. This stretch of Las Vegas Boule- y d d w Fremont Street v t vard South is the heart of the city—sometimes it’s mistaken for the l k P S

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r r t Vegas is all about: mammoth hotel casinos, glittering with electricity ille e e ev A Alta Dr Bonn v t y h D O W N T O W N n w t e k t u d C P S both real and metaphorical. See nothing else and you will see Las L n

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i n i 3 t G B a s l Vegas. START: The main entrance to the Luxor. r 1 a s y a r C a

g a M e M V ARTS s DISTRICT a ★ Charleston Blvd L Charleston Blvd 1 Luxor. With its glass pyra- To Red Rock Canyon/ (GATEWAY

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Trump International d Desert Inn Rd R Encore Center y e Las Vegas Blvd. S. 888/777-0188

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Mall ) Wynn Golf a r A A marvel of modern design, CityCenter

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in the daytime, glowing at night, and Mirage The toned down over the years, this cas-

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largest in Vegas and continues to Imperial Palace

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theme on the inside. @ 20 min. 3970 Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 800/693- 6763 or 702/740-6969. www.nyny hotelcasino.com. 5 ★ CityCenter. The big ques- tion hanging over this futuristic “urban community” of resorts, Full-Day Tours retail, and entertainment options, which debuted to great fanfare in December 2009, is whether it will ever recoup the zillion-dollar invest- The Best ment it took to open it. Still, that money bought some pretty nifty modern architecture, a sustainable environment (it has the highest casino LEED certification in Vegas), and one of the largest public art installations in the U.S. Stroll past artworks by such notables as Maya Lin and Henry Moore and marvel at It’s less Egyptian than it used to be, but you can still lose yourself in the Luxor’s the sheer scale of this steel-and- impossibly large atrium. glass wonder. @ 25 min. Las Vegas Blvd. S. & Harmon Ave. www.city pinnacle of over-the-top fantasy center.com. See p 137 for details on Vegas. The Empire State and Chrys- CityCenter’s hotels & p 69 for details ler buildings, a half-scale Statue of on shopping. Liberty, and more are represented 6 ★★ Cosmopolitan of Las in brightly colored, semicartoon Vegas. If you want to know what detail—and a roller coaster (whose the future Las Vegas will look like, cars appropriately resemble NYC this is where you need to pay atten- taxis) swooshes through it all. Ridic- tion. The audacious, deliriously ulous and fantastic all at once— over-the-top decor eschews tradi- even if the hotel execs deserve a tional Vegas themes (no lions or Bronx cheer for toning down the tigers or roller coasters, oh my!) and

The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas embraces Sin City’s love of over-the-top glitz.

05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1010 55/16/12/16/12 33:17:17 PM 11 The Best Sidewalk creperies are everywhere in Paris, so continue your ooo-la-la mood and grab a traditional snack,

with either a sweet or savory filling, in One Day at 8 La Creperie. Inside Paris Las Vegas. y 702/946-7000. $. See 7.

9 ★★★ Bellagio Water Foun- tains. The best free show in Vegas. Giant spouts send water shooting (as high as 500 ft./152m in the air), dancing, swaying, and even twirling to music ranging from Sinatra to symphonic. A sophisticated lighting array adds a dash of color to the proceedings. You may think it The Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las sounds a bit silly, but catch a show Vegas is half as tall as the original but and see if you can stop with just still impressive. one; for a cinematic preview, check out the action in the 2001 remake of goes for a bold luxury that empha- Ocean’s Eleven. @ 30 min., to allow sizes art and modern design. From for 2 different shows. In front of the the three-story chandelier in the Bellagio, see 0. Shows every half- casino to the LCD-TV covered sup- hour starting early afternoon, every port columns in the lobby, from the 15 min. 8pm–midnight, weather 6-foot-tall (1.8m) high-heel-pump art permitting. pieces on the second floor to the “hidden” pizzeria that has no sig- An immense bronze lion, the largest nage, the Cosmopolitan creates an statue in the United States, guards the atmosphere that is both wholly orig- entrance to the equally mammoth MGM inal and completely true to what Sin Grand hotel. City is all about. @ 20 min. 3700 Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 877/551-7778 or 702/698-7000. www.cosmopolitan oflasvegas.com. 7 ★ Paris Las Vegas. More reproductions of famous landmarks (including a half-scale Eiffel Tower and a two-thirds replica of the Arc de Triomphe), though without much regard to actual geographical loca- tion, as the Hôtel de Ville is crammed on top of the Louvre. It is one of the few Strip resorts that still embraces its theme to the max and is no less chic for it. Vive la France! @ 15 min. 3655 Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 888/BONJOUR (266-5687) or 702/946-7000. www.parislv.com.

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The dancing fountains that front the Bellagio are the best free attraction in Las Vegas.

0 Bellagio. The turning point for plants in this botanical garden on modern-day Vegas, this elegant steroids. Spring, summer, and fall cross between hotel as attraction displays are quite lovely, but the and hotel on steroids set back origi- holiday and Chinese New Year nal owner/visionary Steve Wynn themes are especially noteworthy. about $1 billion. As you stroll by, Yes, that dragon is made entirely admire the ever-so-slightly classy out of flowers, and yes, you will strip mall version of a charming Ital- want to take pictures, so have a ian village strung along an 8-acre camera ready. @ 20 min. Inside the (3.2-hectare) invocation of Lake Bellagio, see 0. Open 24 hrs. Como. @ 20 min. 3600 Las Vegas @ ★ y Caesars Palace. Vegas’s Blvd. S. 888/987-6667 or 702/693- original, simultaneously goofy and 7111. www.bellagio.com. romantic hotel—and one of the old- ! ★★ Bellagio Conservatory. est venues (it opened in 1966) still A staff of more than 140 horticultur- extant on the Strip. It’s expanded so ists creates Rose Parade float–wor- much that the Rat Pack wouldn’t thy seasonal displays of flowers and recognize it, but you should still

The Mirage kicked off the modern hotel era in Las Vegas and still holds its own today.

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enjoy the tacky and oversize repli- The Best cas of Greco-Roman statuary that decorate the front. Watch for the four-sided Bhrama shrine, an 8,000- pound (3,629kg) replica of the ven- in One Day erated Thai Buddhist good-luck landmark, on the north lawn. @ 25 min. 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 877/427-7243 or 702/731-7110. www.caesars.com. # ★ The Mirage. The hotel that, in 1989, kicked off the “more is more” modern Vegas era. This gleaming gold structure cost $630 million (a record when it was built) The jaw-dropping lobby of The Venetian and set the pattern for pretty much is loaded with marble and exquisitely every hotel that followed, down to detailed frescoes. its mirrored facade and Y shape, to say nothing of the attention-getting (283-6423) or 702/414-1000. www. outdoor free attractions. The vol- venetian.com. cano (revamped in 2008) out front % ★ Wynn Las Vegas. A nearly doesn’t spew lava, but it does set $3-billion, 60-story effort from Steve off an entertaining display of fire, Wynn, the man who transformed lights, and smoke every 15 minutes Las Vegas forever. Disappointingly, after dark. @ 15 min. 3400 Las you can’t see that much from the Vegas Blvd. S. y 800/627-6667 or outside; unlike Wynn’s previous 702/791-7111. www.mirage.com. efforts, the eye-catching accouter- $ ★★ The Venetian. Arguably ments—in this case, a 150-foot-tall the best representative of the be-in- (46m) man-made mountain—can be Vegas-but-pretend-you-are-else- properly viewed only from inside. where architecture craze (not least Spoilsport! @ 20 min. 3400 Las because it’s still proudly embracing Vegas Blvd. S. y 800/627-6667 or its theme heritage); in this case, a 702/791-7111. www.wynnlasvegas. rather admirable (and $1.5-billion) com. simulation of Venice. There’s part of ^ Wynn Buffet. For the most the Doge’s palace, there’s the Cam- part, buffets are no longer the bas- panile, there’s St. Mark’s Square, tion of budget Vegas (itself a thing and there are even guys in gondo- of the past), but they’re still cheaper lier outfits. All that is missing is the than dining at one of the city’s smell from the canals and those fabled high-end, celebrity-chef res- pesky attack pigeons (we forgive taurants (and a Vegas tradition, to them this trespass). And unlike simi- boot). The buffet at Wynn is a fancy lar storybook lands at New York– affair, with options running from New York and Paris, you can tandoori chicken to Southern spe- actually wander this Italian cialties, as well as sublime desserts. cityscape. @ 25 min. 3355 Las See p 98 for full details on the Vegas Blvd. S. y 888/2-VENICE restaurant.

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n egas doesn’t have a lot of cuhl-cha, but it does have four The Best Maryla Vcompelling and wildly different museums, each with its own y charms—two are located on casino property! Today, I’ll also give d d w Fremont Street v t l k P S B l Experience n you a glimpse of life off the Strip, which might reinforce why most a i in Two Days g r F t a d re n v m i n l M on e K B t visitors rarely leave Las Vegas Boulevard South; except for a few

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r r t ille e e ev A Alta Dr Bonn v t y h D O W N T O W N n w t architectural bright spots, design imagination seems to be e k t u d C P S L n

d d h a o v t n r l n exhausted and what remain are mostly strip malls. The treasures

i n i 3 t G B a s l r 1 a s y a r C a found inside, however, should more than make up for the bland

g a M e M V ARTS s exteriors. START: National Atomic Testing Museum (755 E. Flamingo DISTRICT a Charleston Blvd L Charleston Blvd To Red Rock Canyon/ (GATEWAY Rd.). It’s best to drive here from your hotel; you can park in the free

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05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1515 55/16/12/16/12 33:17:17 PM 16 Full-Day Tours

Few things in the city are more fun than visiting the residents of the Dolphin Habitat at The Best The Mirage.

loud and busy landscape. @ 45 min. trainers to your heart’s content. In Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. @ 1 hr. In The Mirage, 3400 Las y 702/693-7871. www.bellagio. Vegas Blvd. S. y 702/791-7188. com. Reservations suggested; walk- www.miragehabitat.com. Admission ins taken every 15 min. Admission $17 adults, $12 kids 4–12, free for $15 adults, $12 seniors & Nevada kids 3 & under if accompanied by an residents, $10 teachers & students. adult. Mon–Fri 11am–6:30pm; Sat– Sun–Tues & Thurs 10am–6pm; Wed Sun & holidays 10am–6:30pm. & Fri–Sat 10am–7pm. Last admission 5 ★ = Madame Tussaud’s half-hour prior to closing. in The Venetian. A branch of London’s legendary wax museum, Have a sandwich or, best of all, a here you will find lifelike—or creepy, delectable dessert at the award- sometimes it’s a fine line—replicas winning 3 Jean-Philippe Patis- of famous folks. Unlike in other serie, whose signature attraction is museums, you can actually touch a 27-foot-tall (8.2m) chocolate foun- the free-standing exhibits. Go ahead, tain that Willie Wonka would love. In fondle J. Lo’s butt or give Brad Pitt a Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. little smooch. @ 45 min. In The y 702/693-8788. $. Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 702/862-7800. www.mtvegas. com. Admission $25 adults, $18 Drive to The Mirage, park your seniors & students, $15 kids 7–12, car, and walk until further notice. free for kids 6 & under. Discounts for booking online. Sun–Thurs 10am– 4 ★★★ = Siegfried & Roy’s 9:30pm; Fri–Sat 10am–10:30pm. Dolphin Habitat & Secret Gar- den. You can get fairly close to 6 Bartolotta Ristorante di some good-looking white tigers and Mare. To get the full Vegas experi- lions at the Secret Garden, the day- ence, you need to dine with at least time quarters for some of Siegfried one celebrity chef, and better with & Roy’s animals (they really live on James Beard–nominated Paul Barto- the duo’s ranch). But the best thing lotta, who is actually likely to be in here is the dolphin exhibit, where his kitchen. Plus, this beauty of a a number of the delightful mammals multilevel restaurant, featuring sim- (all born in captivity) live in a state- ple yet not simplistic classic Italian of-the-art habitat, designed to their seafood cuisine, is a jewel box in its specifications. There are no shows own right. Worth every dime. @ At per se, but you can watch the dol- least 2 hr. In Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 phins happily cavort with their doting Las Vegas Blvd. S. y 888/352-3463

05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1616 55/16/12/16/12 33:17:17 PM 17

or 702/248-3463. www.wynnlasvegas. The Best com. See p 88 for details on the restaurant. 7 ★★★ = Mystère. The artisti- in Two Days cally superb productions of the world- famous Cirque du Soleil have largely replaced the old Vegas jiggle top revues. This is the first and most representative of classic Cirque, Mystère launched the onslaught of Cirque before it went nuts (happily) with the du Soleil productions in Las Vegas. possibilities afforded by a big budget and elaborate staging. The result is a and around you. If you want, you weird and wonderful mix of choreog- can have a drink at the deck’s Top 1 raphy, acrobatics, and music. @ 1 2 hr. of the World bar. Check out the In TI Las Vegas, 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. adjacent restaurant (the desserts S. y 800/963-9634 or 702/796-9999. aren’t bad); it revolves, which is a www.cirquedusoleil.com. Tickets retro hoot. @ 30 min. if you stay for $69–$109 (plus tax). Shows Sat–Wed a drink. 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S. 7 & 9:30pm. No shows Thurs–Fri. y 702/380-7777. Admission to observation deck $16 adults, $12 Take the TI shuttle back to seniors & hotel guests, $10 kids The Mirage (or walk to the 4–12, free for kids 3 & under. Sun– parking lot) and drive to the Thurs 10am–1am; Fri–Sat & holidays Stratosphere. 10am–2am. Hours vary seasonally. 8 Stratosphere. The tallest Drive to Downtown Las Vegas building west of the Mississippi and park in the Golden Nugget (1,149 ft./350m) offers eagle-eyed parking garage (validation avail- views of the desert, the mountains, able in the casino). and the Strip from its observation deck. It stays open until 1am, and 9 ★ = Fremont Street though lines to get up here can be Experience. In the heart of Down- lengthy, you can stay as long as you town Vegas is a pedestrian-only like. The panorama up here can’t be zone that’s covered with a video beat, as the lights of this ridiculous screen about five football fields in and marvelous city twinkle below length known as Viva Vision. The screen’s 12.5 million LED modules, Even in a restaurant mecca such as Vegas, and a 550,000-watt sound system, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare stands out deliver a rotating light-and-sound thanks to its superb Italian cuisine. show with themes like Area 51 (watch out for aliens!) and Retro Vegas, plus tributes to groups like the Rolling Stones, Queen, and the Doors. The shows don’t necessarily make the best use of the technol- ogy, but they are still the best free- bie in Vegas after the Bellagio fountains (p 11, 9). @ 20 min., longer if you see more than 1 show. Fremont St. (btw. Main St. & Las Vegas Blvd. S.). www.vegas experience.com. Shows nightly every hour, dusk–midnight.

05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1717 55/16/12/16/12 33:17:17 PM 18 The Best in Three Days - MarylandMaryland PPkwy.kwy. N N L 93 A W W N N 15 T O A O O R I R TOWN T TOWN DOWN- D . T

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05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1818 55/16/12/16/12 33:17:17 PM 19 ven the most dedicated gambler needs to get outside for The Best Esome real oxygen, so today I send you off to discover some of - Maryland Pkwy. N

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Rampart Blvd. odbury Beltwa y Wo the desert thanks to serious fault @ 30 min. Just past the park ce Bru Fort Apache Rd. action. The Red Rock Canyon entrance on the scenic loop. Daily y. kw National Conservation Area con- 8am–4:30pm. P n li r sists of 197,000 acres (79,723 hect- e 3 Calico Hills. The parking lot at m ares), accessible to the public via a m wn Cente u To r Dr. the start of the second trail along

S 13-mile (21km) scenic driving loop the scenic loop provides one of the and 19 hiking trails. In addition to two best views at the red rocks that even better photo ops and encoun- give this area its name. @ 20 min. ters with local flora and fauna, the for photographs; 3 hr. to hike, hikes provide opportunities to view depending on level of fitness. Look petroglyphs and pictographs. Red for route marker just under a mile Rock is also one of the most popular (1.6km) from the visitor center.

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05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 1919 55/16/12/16/12 33:18:18 PM 20

@ 1–2 hr. NV 159, 5 miles (8km) past Red Rock Canyon. y 702/875- 4191. www.bonniesprings.com. Admission $20 per car. Daily Nov– Apr 10:30am–5pm, May–Oct 10:30am–6pm.

Full-Day Tours 7 Calico Basin. About 2 miles (3.2km) west of the turnoff into the Red Rock scenic loop is a half-mile- long (.8km) boardwalk trail, an alter- native way for travelers with The Best disabilities or for those with other mobility issues to get out of the car and into the scenery. Look for wild- flowers and the foundations of an Its glory days might be in the past, but old cabin. @ 1 hr. Look for signs 2 Bonnie Springs Ranch still offers lots of miles (3.2km) west of park entrance, old-style fun, especially for families. on north side of Charleston Blvd. 8 Red Rock Resort. This fancy Take advantage of the picnic tables at resort is the getaway of choice for the start of the Lost Creek—Children’s the famous of face to hide in Vegas. Discovery Trail by splitting a sandwich It’s a good spot to ease yourself you picked up before entering the back into a Vegas frame of mind park, at 5 Capriotti’s, the justly with a drink, and maybe even a little lauded local submarine sandwich gambling. @ 30 min., longer if you place. Its outlet in the Red Rock gamble. 11011 W. Charleston Blvd. Resort is on the drive in from the y 866/767-7773 or 702/797-7777. Strip to the park. 11011 W. Charles- See p 134 for more information on ton Blvd. y 702/257-3337. $. the resort. 9 ★★ = The Springs Pre- serve. Vegas was first settled 6 = Bonnie Springs Ranch. around natural springs in the middle A deliberately hokey re-creation of of an otherwise arid desert. Those an old Western town, where it’s springs have long since dried up, hard to tell if the weather-beaten but they made the city possible and look is authentic or the sign of a this 180-acre (73-hectare) facility somewhat aging attraction. The reg- celebrates that with a fun museum ular satirical dramatic skits provide exploring the region’s history, envi- old-fashioned fun; not slick, but ronmental displays, wetlands, gar- sweet and silly. Play cowboys with dens, and more. The interactive your kids as you wander past the exhibits that put you in the center of saloon, the mill, and the old general a desert flash flood or atop Hoover store. Next door is a petting zoo, a Dam, keep this from being a “dry” maze of (scrupulously clean) wire experience. @ 1 hr. 333 S. Valley pens with goats, rabbits, snooty lla- View Blvd. y 702/822-7700. www. mas, elderly deer living in fat retire- springspreserve.org. Admission $19 ment, and a couple of wolves. The adults, $17 seniors & students, $11 aviary provides glimpses of pea- kids 5–17, kids 4 & under free. Daily cocks, while a riding stable offers 10am–6pm. trail rides into the mountains. •

05_9781118287538-ch01.indd_9781118287538-ch01.indd 2020 55/16/12/16/12 33:18:18 PM