Las Vegas, the largest city of the state of Nevada, is popularly referred to as The World’s Entertainment Capital. Las Vegas is also known as the Disneyland for adults — because much of the entertainment and recreational activities in the city revolves around the casinos. Gambling is very much associated with Las Vegas; it has always been the most important activity in the city. While a traveler would think that establishments are close in terms of distance, walking from one casino to another would require time and a little effort because Las Vegas is actually bigger than it looks. Just the same, Las Vegas is a city that can give total satisfaction to its visitors.
Las Vegas is situated in the middle of the southern part of the Nevada deserts. The city has numerous gargantuan casino hotels, many of which are decorated lavishly. The attention to detail is so much done to provide a fantasy-like feel. Las Vegas casinos possess names that strongly suggest romance, love and mystery such as Rio, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, the Flamingo, and The Excalibur. Other hotels and gaming establishments imitate popular country and city destinations such as New York, Monte Carlo, Paris, the Venetian and Egypt.
Las Vegas is also known as the wedding capital of the world. To get married, apply first for a license at the Office of the County Clerk. The couple must be able to present a valid identification card such as a passport or a driver’s license. The wedding ceremony can be performed by any authorized minister, justice of the peace or priest. Many chapels for weddings are located on the Strip or around the area of county clerk’s office.
The lure of Las Vegas is so immense to every would-be traveler — it is a magnificent city that anyone would want to come back over and over again. The period of November to February is always the quietest because it has the least number of visitors and tourists, thus is the cheapest time to go to Vegas. However, during important events such as Thanksgiving, Christmas Holidays, New Year’s Day, and Super bowl, large groups of people bring their parties and get-together to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas have a very hot summer season, with the average temperature registering around 38°C from the period of June to September. The city has a cool winter season from December to January. The climate for the rest of the year in Las Vegas is temperate.
The Strip
The glamorous, glitzy Strip of Las Vegas runs from the Mandalay Bay up to the part of Stratosphere. The Strip is considered the heart and life of Las Vegas. Its Flamingo Road intersection is where the action can be found. In the Strip is where you will find Bellagio, Paris, the Caesars Palace, the Mirage as well as the Flamingo. The fountains of Bellagio show a magnificent and exciting display many times on a 15 minute interval in the evenings. It also has the finest buffest in the area. The Mirage is one of the most popular casinos in the Strip. It gives hourly shows in the evening, with the erupting volcano coupled with an impressive light show as its top draw. The Flamingo, on the other hand, has a fantastic garden with beautiful Flamingos and other exotic selection of fauna.
On the southern area of the Strip is where the Luxor, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York, the Excalibur and the MGM Grand is to be found. It is quite easy to travel around this part of the Strip, and if you want a monorail ride, there is a free one that covers the area from Mandalay to the Excalibur, with a short stop at the Luxor. Most of the casinos at the southern Strip have restaurants and food establishments, shops and shows that rival those at other areas of the Strip.
Off the Las Vegas Strip
Although much of the Las Vegas tourist would rather stay within the Strip and not dare to venture outside, others do want to enjoy the excitement that the areas off the Strip offer. Here is where the coolest and hippest casinos such as the Palms, Hard Rock and the Rio can be found. Las Vegas’ off-the-strip area also offers great food and drinks, an exciting nightlife and easy rules and great payouts in the casinos. There are other properties and establishments such as the Renaissance Las Vegas and Westin Casuarina which offer quite and soothing ambience, an environment which you would not find that often on the Strip.
[...] Las Vegas is one, if not the most visited place in the country. Everyone wants to have a weekend getaway in Las Vegas and just be themselves without any worries. After all, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” This quote has been associated with bad things happening here such as adult entertainment and organized crime. Despite this, it has created an atmosphere wherein it can be a wholesome place to stay. [...]
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