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Las Vegas Few cities bring to mind the images of sheer excess as Las Vegas. Located in the middle of the arid Mojave Desert at the southern tip of the state of Nevada, it is an oasis of life, energy and money - a city whose raison d'etre is entertainment. With soaring temperatures during the summer and moderate winters, the city is visited all year round.

Alternative acts Avant-garde theatre is giving Vegas lounge acts and magic shows a run for their money. One of the most unusual performances in town is the Blue Man Group, ongoing at the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel. The masked trio accompanies its mime-like theatrics with wild sounds from invented instruments.

Canal zone It may not be Venice, but the water's cleaner. Take your sweetie for a gondola ride under a blue sky, even at night. The Venetian is one of the newest grand hotels to sprout up on Las Vegas Boulevard, more commonly known as the Strip. After shopping along the Grand Canal, slip across the border to the Paris and tour the Eiffel Tower.

Heights of passion With Elvis incarnate at the wheel, you're on the road to matrimonial bliss. Drive-in Vegas wedding chapels rock around the clock, making it easy to get hitched during a break from the tables. Top off your "I dos" with thrill rides on the Stratosphere—like marriage, the world's highest roller coaster is not for the faint of heart.

Volcanic disruption A Strip classic, the Mirage volcano erupts every night like clockwork. Inside this tropically landscaped hotel you can see its famous white tigers free of charge in their (equally white) enclosure, or put through their paces in Siegfried & Roy's illusion shows. Next door, pirates and two full-scale ships enact daily dramas of derring-do at Treasure Island.

Jet dreams Every evening fountains at the classy Bellagio resort jet skyward in time to amplified music. Set back from the Strip by a large lake, among rows of Mediterranean olive trees and luxurious boutiques, the Bellagio is one of Vegas's few adult-only hotels. But you can bring kids to the incredible "O" show performed here by Cirque du Soleil.

New York, Nevada style Getouttaheah! The Statue of Liberty, Manhattan skyline, Times Square, and other Big Apple icons cluster conveniently at this city-within-a-city. Scream on the Coney Island roller coaster, clean up in the Central Park casino. This is one of the more energetic and entertaining new hotels on the Strip.

Mojave mirage Castles and pyramids, palm trees and lakes, replicas of the world's great cities—Las Vegas beckons like a theme park oasis in the Mojave Desert. The mountains on the horizon remind you that a more natural world is not far away. Escape the glitz with a short drive to soul-soothing Red Rock Canyon or historic Hoover Dam at Lake Mead.

Vegas revisited Sin City has come a long way since 1946 when mobster Bugsy Siegel opened the celebrated Flamingo Hotel. Neon signs and slot machines are still Vegas icons, as this revamped vintage slice of Fremont Street shows. But mega-resorts with international themes, spas, and classy boutiques are all the rage now. Bring your Guccis with your good-luck charms. This city never sleeps.

Shopping Although Las Vegas is best known for its casinos, the city has gained increasing popularity for shopping, to the point where this is now a major tourist draw in itself. Visitors can look forward to a wide variety of boutique shopping, featuring major European and American designers, as well as inexpensive factory outlet shopping. There is also the stereotypical memorabilia on hand – such as Elvis outfits, lighters and t-shirts. Shops are located anywhere tourists might happen to pass with money in their pockets – in other words anywhere in Downtown and on the Strip. As with almost everything, the hotel–casinos spare no expense in their efforts to attract customers. The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes are situated among cobbled walkways that wind through designer boutiques culminating in a replica of St Mark’s Square. The Aladdin offers Desert Passage – a shopping complex based on the North African trade routes that stretched from Spain to the Arabian Sea – featuring cosmetics, men’s and women’s fashion, outdoor gear, gifts and much more. The Bellagio’s Via Bellagio offers upmarket European shops including Moschino, Chanel, Armani, Prada and Hermes. Paris Las Vegas features quaint cobblestone walkways rimmed with European and North American speciality stores.

Nightlife Nightlife is Las Vegas’ best-known pastime. The casinos and hotels may be open by day but only under the cover of night does the city’s burst of lights set the atmosphere buzzing. Casinos, restaurants and bars are packed with tourists from all over the world, most in a friendly and genial spirit. Casino hotels tend to house not only the best-known stage shows but also all the late-night bars, nightclubs and live music. Once again, the city is split between the Strip and Downtown, both of which offer an overwhelming assortment of evening activities. Downtown offers smaller, sometimes more charismatic, venues, while the enormous hotel complexes of the Strip offer a wide variety of entertainment options at each individual complex. Las Vegas is a 24-hour city. Alcohol can be bought at any time of day or night, in restaurants, bars and shops. The legal drinking age is 21 years. Dress at most casinos is casual, however, some lounges do impose a dress code. Mixed drinks generally cost between US$4.50 and US$8, although they are usually on the house while gambling. Drinks that come in a souvenir glass may cost more.

Bars All night-time entertainment happens within the hotel–casino complexes. Most bars in Las Vegas feature such extravagant entertainment that they rival the largest nightclubs of other cities. Nevertheless, in Las Vegas, they are simply bars when compared to the lavish shows put on in the theatres and clubs there. The Bellagio’s Baccarat Bar, 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, serves luxurious cocktails against a backdrop of live piano music, while the Petrossian Bar, also at the Bellagio, aims to take visitors back to pre-Revolutionary Russia and the days of ‘fantasy and indulgence’, serving champagne, tea and caviar. The Bar at Times Square, New York-New York Hotel and Casino, 3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, aims to recreate the feel of an old New York city pub with polished wood floors and nightly entertainment.

Clubs A number of state-of-the-art clubs are offered by the major hotel–casinos. The minimum age for entry is usually 21 years and a dress code is also often in place. One of the best-known clubs is yet another Las Vegas recreation of somewhere else – Studio 54, MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South. Modelled on the legendary New York nightclub of the 1970s, Studio 54 features live dancers, dance music and a collection of photographs taken at the original club. The Luxor’s Egyptian-themed club is called Ra, 3900 Las Vegas Boulevard South, where visitors are entertained by touring DJs who play a variety of dance music. It was voted by Las Vegas Weekly in 2002 as ‘easily the best club in Las Vegas.’ It also tends to have long queues, so visitors are encouraged to arrive early.

Casinos To gamble, visitors must be at least 21 years old and have proof of age and identity in the form of a driver’s licence, passport or other photo identification. Most casinos in Las Vegas do not impose a dress code, although shoes and shirts are required. Some casinos worth visiting (not mentioned in the Key Attractions section) include the Arabian themed Aladdin Resort and Casino, 3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South, and Excalibur, 3850 Las Vegas Boulevard South, a medieval-inspired castle. The slightly dingy but intimate Gold Spike, 400 Ogden Avenue East, offers low table limit and penny slots, giving a taste of what the city was like in the 1970s. The Golden Nugget, 129 Fremont Street East, has been a fixture of Downtown since 1946, and features the largest gold nugget in the world, weighing in at 23 kilograms (61 pounds). New York-New York, 3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, is a recreation of New York, while Paris Las Vegas, 3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South, aims to import a touch of European class and sophistication.

Red Rock Canyon Designated a National Conservation Area in 1990, Red Rock Canyon is a 78,800-hectare (197,000-acre) park located 16km (ten miles) west of Las Vegas. The park provides a scenic drive, hiking trails, rock climbing, bicycling and picnic areas. The defining attraction of Red Rock Canyon is a geological feature known as the Keystone Thrust Fault. This was formed about 65 million years ago, when two of the Earth’s crustal plates collided, forcing a grey limestone plate up and over the younger red one, making for some of the most dramatic scenery in the Mojave desert. Today, Joshua trees add another element to the sublimely coloured sandstone and jagged desert landscape. The Visitors Centre (tel: (702) 363 1921) houses various exhibits and provides guided nature walks. Hiking trails range from easy to moderately strenuous. Travel by car, via Charleston Boulevard, is recommended, as the park features a 21km (13-mile) scenic drive – open from 0700 to dusk, entrance is US$5 per vehicle.

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view. It is more than a pleasuring ground for those who explore the roads, hike the trails, or float the currents of the turbulent Colorado River. This canyon is a gift that transcends what we experience. Its beauty and size humble us. Its timelessness provokes a comparison to our short existence. In its vast spaces we may find solace from our hectic lives. The Grand Canyon we visit today is a gift from past generations.

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