Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas!

Spring 2017 will be dedicated to a very exciting place, the USA, Nevada, Arizona and California. The destination of march will be Las Vegas, the dazzling city. In another chapter I will show you the natural beauties of the region as well.

Showtime

Vegas is a once in a lifetime experience, it's more than just glitz and glamour. Everybody should visit the Sin City, it’s something you cannot experience anywhere else. I was lucky to spend one week there and celebrated my birthday in Vegas. It’s really the place for partying, shopping and having fun. I show you the places I love the most, so when you go there next time, you have a clear vision of the top attractions and services.

Short history of the city

This desert metropolis has drawn millions of visitors to Nevada, but do you know the history of the city? Las Vegas means „The meadows” in Spanish, because the valley consisted of artesian wells and green areas. The city was generally created in 1905 when the Union Pacific Railroad began passing through a desert oasis, this place turned out to be an ideal rest stop. Later on Nevada was the first state to legalize casino-style gambling and Vegas slowly started to be the center of entertainment. In the 60's it was recognized as a popular vacation spot, such stars lived here like Elvis Presley. Today the city offers a wide range of services, from cheap to very expensive ones. Even if you just walk on the street, you will bump into free attractions and shows. It's worth visiting the most famous casinos, where you can also admire the amazing sights like the Venice inspired Venetian Hotel with real canals and gondola, or the Caesars Palace with its beautiful antique inspired interior design, shops, restaurants and bars.

The Strip

The 2.5-mile-long central section of Las Vegas Boulevard, which runs through the city is known as The Strip. It's lined with huge entertainment palaces, luxury hotels, casinos, and fine dining. The Strip is particularly impressive at night, when the city is illuminated by glittering neon signs. Most visitors enjoy walking along the Strip and taking in the sights. Many of the hotel complexes have free street side entertainment, from dancing fountains to erupting volcanoes. You can have the best view of Vegas from the tower observation desk of the Stratosphere Hotel. Entrance fee is 20USD for adults, 5USD for hotel guests. (More on the other attractions below). Another great way to admire the view is a helicopter ride. I tried that on my way to the Grand Canyon, but that’s another chapter.

My favorite sights on the Strip

The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas is located on "The Strip" across from Treasure Island. It is one of the city's finest resorts and has many interesting tourist attractions. Visitors can walk through the shopping arcade built to resemble the city of Venice itself, you can enjoy the blue skies, canals, and gondoliers. The hotel also features the main attractions in Venice such as the Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs.

Bellagio: The most impressive and famous feature is the fountain show in front of the Bellagio, the dancing fountains perform a beautiful display of water set to music. This is often described as the best free attraction in Las Vegas. The other one is the volcano eruption at the Mirage Hotel with music and lighting effects.

Caesars Palace: It has an excellent location, it’s a royal place with style and it’s also one of the largest hotels in Vegas.

Mandalay Bay Resort is at the southwest end of the Strip, near the Luxor hotel. One of the key highlights at this complex is the Shark Reef Aquarium. The Shark Tunnel is the most impressive feature. The hotel's pool complex is pretty amazing too, it features a luxurious 4,400-square-foot pool, they even created a tropical, sandy beach, so might feel like at the Caribbean.

www.mandalabay.com

www.tripadvisor.com

Stratosphere: The tower rises up 1,149 feet, and on the rooftop of the tower are a variety of heart pounding thrill rides, including the SkyJump, Big Shot, X Scream, and Insanity. There is an indoor and outdoor observation deck with great views over the city. The Stratosphere Tower claims the "tallest freestanding observation tower in the USA."

Hotels I stayed at: Hilton, MGM Grand

The city is great because it offers a wide selection of accommodation: motels, budget hotels and luxurious hotels, apartment, you name it. I can share with you my personal experience regarding two hotels I stayed at. There are 3 Hilton resorts in the city, I stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations, which was great. The rooms are spacious and it offers you everything you can expect from a five star hotel. It does not have a casino inside, to me its more like a family friendly hotel, which is great if you prefer a more quit place. It’s located close to the Stratosphere and SLS, although it’s the end of the Strip, so if you prefer being more in the center, you might want to choose another hotel.

I also stayed at MGM Grand Resort, It’s really in the center, a great, 4-star hotel with casino inside. The most popular sights and hotels like The Venetian or the Bellagio are an easy walk away. It offers a great pool complex and many great restaurants, I especially loved the Grand Wok and Sushi Bar, high quality food and exceptional service.

www.mgmgrand.com

Restaurants, buffets  

The Top of the World Restaurant at Stratosphere is a unique one. If you are looking for special treats, this is it. The view is amazing, the place is elegant, it revolves 360 degrees every 80 minutes, you are able to see the whole city. Highly recommended to make a reservation in advance.

www.stratospherehotel.com

If you are looking for an ‘all you can eat’ place, I can offer you two very good ones: The buffets at Bellagio and Aria. At most of the hotels you will find buffet dining possibilities, I was eager to try these top two buffets. They offer a huge variety of food in Bellagio: ham, shrimp, fruit, salad, Italian, Mexican food, seafood and all sort of desserts. You'd better go earlier, around 6pm for dinner, otherwise there will be queue. The next day we tried Aria Buffet, it's a newer hotel with an oriental, Asian influenced atmosphere. The selection of food is just as great as the Bellagio's offer, there is less queue and once you are in Vegas, it's good to try them both. Honestly I wouldn't be able to choose between them, the Bellagio is legendary, the Aria is spacious. You will have quality service at both places.

Bellagio Buffet

Aria Buffet

Night life, sport events and concerts

There is no such as peek season if it comes to Vegas, something is always going on here. You can attend such regular events like the NASCAR, the NBA, the PGA Tour, Major League Baseball. If you love sports, you are at the right place.

As soon as it gets dark, the city is awaking. Vegas is the best place for concerts, big stars are here like Rihanna, Santana, Jennifer Lopez, Rod Stewart, just naming a few of them. As a surprise for my birthday I got concert tickets for the Alicia Keys concert, it was such an honor to see her performing live, she is very talented and professional.

Tickets were sold out for the Celine Dion concert, no suprise, she is the queen of the sold tickets, so if your favorite star is performing in Vegas, don’t hesitate to buy the tickets in advance. Another great show was the The "O" show by Cirque du Soleil in Hotel Bellagio, the show features synchronized swimming, high diving with acrobatic elements. Our minds were blown, it’s spectacular. Cirque du Soleil has been part of Las Vegas for more than 20 years, right now they run seven shows in Vegas, all these shows are full of energy and fun.

Another show I loved was the David Copperfield show. He made us believe in magic, he is a talented illusionist, he makes you feel like you are part of the show and you never know what comes next.

Fremont Street – crazy experience

The old downtown of Vegas is different from the Strip. It’s a cheaper way of entertainment combined with often strange sights. Still you should check it out, you are in Vegas! Fremont street is famous for its crazy parties, if you visit the place at night, you will be amazed by the laser effects and the party atmosphere.

Shopping

At night it's time for party, during daytime you can enjoy the pools and other hotel services or you can go shopping of course. Almost every hotel has a wide range of exclusive shops, there is a mall called Fashion Show Mall at the end of the Strip, there are all kind of shops here, not just very expensive, designer ones. Fashion outlets are very popular in Vegas, you will find two big ones with great deals and discounts (www.premiumoutlets.com)

Enjoy every minute of your stay and don’t forget: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”!